#Tim dillon bentley free

However, experts have since raised doubts, arguing the heavy batteries located in the floor of the Tesla would have stopped it from rolling. The car was initially said to have flipped multiple times. The steep, rocky, winding coastal area is known as Devil's Slide.įire Chief Brian Pottenger told reporters: 'We go there all the time for cars over the cliff and they never live. Troopers were dispatched at around 10am on January 2 to reports that a vehicle had veered off the cliff on Highway 1, around 20 miles south of San Francisco. The family members were airlifted to safety The huge drop from the highway to the scene of the crash. 'But we'll learn, we'll find out hopefully more as time goes on.' 'It's just the story we have right now, it certainly appears this was an intentional act to us and that's why we filed the charges.

'So the facts, the whole story is not out yet. 'Or the CHP MAIT team comes back and says, 'Look it, there was a mechanical difficulty with the vehicle,' Wagstaffe continued. Or the wife comes forward and says, 'Let me tell you wat occurred and to explain it.' 'Now again, multiple things could occur, and this happens in criminal cases where the family comes forward and they give us a description of some things that put a different light on it. 'I am convinced that, on the evidence we have at this point, that it was an intentional act. 'But there was nothing immediately that would indicate any type of vehicle disability or problem,' he added. Patel's Tesla is now being examined by the California Highway Patrol's Major Accident Investigation Team 'to see did the brakes go out? Do we have flat tires? Whatever they could determine from the vehicle,' Wagstaffe said. He was then booked into San Mateo County's Maguire Correctional Facility in late January. Patel was arrested after California Highway Patrol investigators 'developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act,' the agency said.

#Tim dillon bentley free

Sheriff's deputies work to free the car after the family was airlifted to safety on January 2 State attorneys will also likely bring up witness statements, as two people who were allegedly driving behind Patel on January 2 'who watched what occurred and were able to provide information about lack of brake lights,' Wagstaffe told People. And then a sharp right turn down and over the edge and down the cliff.' That video, he said, 'clearly shows his car coming out of the tunnel, going up the hill, making a right turn off the road into a dirt area at the top. 'So we have video showing the movement of the car.' Prosecutors are expected to use traffic camera video from Lantos Tunnel as evidence that Patel, who works as a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Pasadena, intentionally steered his Tesla Model Y off the cliff. If convicted, he could face life in prison.Ī judge in San Mateo Court ruled that Patel can only have limited contact with his family, especially his wife, as he remains in custody without bail.

Patel has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, with enhancements of using great bodily harm as well as domestic violence. The suggestion from Bentley that she nonetheless did not want him to be prosecuted came during his client's court appearance last week, in which Patel plead not guilty to charges. Patel's wife, Neha, had previously said 'he tried to kill us' after the family was met by paramedics who repelled down the cliff to rescue them