Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Areas of dense fog. Low 43F. Winds light and variable..
Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Areas of dense fog. Low 43F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: December 14, 2025 @ 7:24 pm
A crash victim is lifted to a helicopter during a rescue operation after a vehicle carrying two adults and two children went over a cliff at Devil's Slide in San Mateo County.
Monday’s Tesla crash off a steep cliff near Devil’s Slide in San Mateo County that injured two adults and endangered two children is being investigated as a deliberate act, the California Highway Patrol said on Wednesday.
The car landed in the rocks nearly 300 feet below Highway 1 and multiple agencies assisted in the rescue. Two adults were taken to the hospital in critical condition and, miraculously, the two children in the car were unharmed.
“CHP investigators worked through the night interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence,” said the San Francisco CHP on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon. “Based on the evidence collected, investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act.”
Dharmesh A. Patel, of Pasadena, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse, CHP said.
Speculation arose after the crash about whether the electric vehicle had been in self-driving mode.
“There has been no determination as to what driving mode the Tesla was in,” said CHP. “However, that does not appear to be a contributing factor in this incident.”
Patel remains in the hospital but will be moved to the San Mateo Jail when he has recovered, CHP said.
Officers and other first responders were first dispatched to the area along Highway 1 around 10:50 a.m. and extracted everyone from the wreck, CHP said.
The agency is still seeking anyone who may have witnessed the event. If so, please contact the CHP SF office at (415) 557-1094.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
“A dazzling delight for all ages” Read moreRodger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Celebrate the season with us at CY Danceworks’ Christmas Open House on Sunday, December 7th! Read moreChristmas Open House-Free Dance Classes, Holiday Crafts, Food, Pics with Santa & More!!!
Dirk van Ulden said:
Connie Weiss said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.