Tesla Cliff-Plunge Attempted Murder Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA —A Southern California man accused of intentionally driving his Tesla off a 250-foot cliff earlier this month with his wife and their two young children aboard pleaded not guilty Thursday.

Dharmesh A. Patel, 41 of Pasadena, pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder and two enhancements in a Redwood City courtroom. A superior court judge restored a no-contact order that had been lifted by a previous judge.

All four survived the Jan. 2 crash described by prosecutors as an attempted murder-suicide in what authorities called a “miracle” rescue.

Patel's preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 20 at 9 a.m. He is being held without bail.

Patel appeared behind a partially opened glass window wearing an orange jumpsuit and a surgical mask.

But Patel's wife and 7-year-old daughter suffered serious injuries. His 4-year-old son suffered minor injuries.

Patel was arrested Jan. 3 but wasn’t jailed until Jan. 20, when the radiologist from Pasadena was released from Stanford Hospital, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Prosecutors last month charged Patel with three counts of attempted murder, of which two include enhancements for causing great bodily injury, Wagstaffe said. The enhancements for causing great bodily injury to two victims means that if convicted, Patel could face seven years to life on both counts.

The third attempted murder charge, in connection with his 4-year-old son, did not result in enhanced charges because the child wasn’t seriously injured, Wagstaffe said.

Patel has retained Joshua Bentley, a prominent San Carlos-based defense attorney whose high-profile clients include ex-San Francisco 49ers defensive star Aldon Smith in a 2021 DUI case.

Bentley on Thursday argued against the no-contact order, telling the judge that the victims do not want Patel to be prosecuted.

Bentley was involved in another high-profile case involving Tesla. He represented Alexander Samek, a Los Altos planning commissioner arrested on suspicion of DUI after the CHP said he was spotted asleep at the wheel of a Tesla on autopilot that was traveling 70 mph on a Bay Area freeway in 2018.

Judge Jeffrey Finigan during Patel's first court appearance on Jan. 23 granted Bentley’s request for a continuance to Feb. 9.

Finigan also granted Deputy DA Dominique Davis’ request that Patel continue to be held without bail in the Jan. 23 hearing, but the judge denied Davis’ request for a no-contact order that would have barred him from communicating with his family, instead issuing a no-harassment order.

The decision to charge Patel was based on a combination of witness testimony, video evidence taken from Tom Lantos Tunnel, and an incriminating statement his wife made to paramedics during the rescue, Wagstaffe said.

A witness around the time of the crash told NBC Bay Area they saw the car go over the cliff.

"And I can see in my rear-view mirror this car that just go over the edge and straight down," the witness told the television station.

So far, the witnesses and video have provided the most compelling evidence against Patel, Wagstaffe.

Crashes along Devil’s Slide, a steep, rocky and winding coastal area about 15 miles (24.14 kilometers) south of San Francisco that’s between Pacifica and Montara, rarely end with survivors.

“We go there all the time for cars over the cliff and they never live. This was an absolute miracle,” Pottenger said around the time of the crash.

News of Patel’s arrest and the circumstances the crash has stunned neighbors.

"They're like ideal neighbors,” neighbor Sarah Walker told ABC 7.

“It seemed like they had a great holiday, they went to go see both parents. It just seemed very happy and great."

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the CHP - San Francisco Area at (415) 557-1094.

— Bay City News and The Associated Press contributed to this report