On January 2, Dharmesh Arvind Patel put his wife, Neha Bubna Patel, and their two children in his Tesla Model Y and did not return home that day. The family plunged off a cliff with the EV on Highway 1 in an area called “Devil’s Slide.” The car went straight on a curve and fell 250 feet (76 meters), but all four occupants survived. The police arrested Patel in the hospital, but prosecutors are now investigating the car.
Soon after the CHP Golden Gate Air Operations rescue, the police “developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act.” Patel was arrested on attempted murder and child endangerment charges. The investigators are yet to disclose a motive in the case or what evidence led them to book the Model Y driver, but we can imagine a few.
There probably are no visible skid marks on the asphalt showing Patel tried to brake the car. Everybody was conscious, so the police may have already talked to Neha and the 7-year-old and 4-year-old children of the couple to understand what happened. The driver himself must have been able to tell his version of the facts. This is probably what must have made the San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe want to rule out that issues in the Model Y did not cause the crash.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Wagstaffe said in an interview: “Did the brakes fail? Were the brakes working? Were there any other mechanical malfunctions that would have led to him not being able to stop the vehicle? We’re having the car looked at from top to bottom.”
A forensic analysis should help clarify what Patel’s neighbors, friends, and co-workers have failed to explain so far. The Los Angeles Times and ABC7 talked to some of them and defined Patel’s family as “idyllic.” Everyone describes the Providence Holy Cross Medical Center radiologist as a good guy who is always present and friendly with his neighbors and colleagues. That is not the description that would fit someone trying to kill his entire family by driving them off a cliff. There are no records of aggression or domestic violence related to Patel’s family, and the family apparently faces no financial difficulties.
Patel was transferred from Stanford Hospital – where his family is still being treated – to the San Mateo Medical Center, where the police are waiting for him to recover so that they can arrest him. According to Wagstaffe, the investigations on the car are still in an early stage. He may have been transferred to prevent any contact with his wife and kids.
Although the investigations may just want to discard mechanical or software issues the Model Y could have presented, the case could turn into something pretty damaging for Tesla’s already shaken reputation. On April 19, 2021, Zhang Yazhou climbed on top of a Tesla Model 3 at Auto Shanghai 2021 with a T-shirt that said “Brakes Lost Control” and “Invisible Killer” in Chinese. She accused Tesla of selling her a Model 3 with brake problems, and her protest became world-famous.
On December 11, a taxi driver in Paris was getting back from a restaurant with his family when his Model 3 allegedly started to accelerate and did not brake. The incident hurt 20 people and killed a biker. The taxi driver is currently suing Tesla. On November 5, 2022, a former professional driver known only as Zhan claimed to have another sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) episode with his Model Y that ended only after 2.6 kilometers (1.6 miles). Two people died in the incident.
These cases show that Tesla vehicles have repeatedly been accused of braking issues. Patel has not spoken publicly about what happened, but we do not doubt that he may claim that this was the case. If that is the truth and he has been unfairly accused of trying to kill his family, that damage will be really hard to repair.
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