CNN
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A 41-year-old California man was positioned beneath arrest Tuesday on a number of costs after he allegedly meant to drive off a cliff on the Pacific Coast Freeway with three passengers within the automotive, authorities stated.
All 4 occupants of the Tesla survived the crash on Monday after the automotive plunged between 250 and 300 ft beneath the highway it was on and right into a rocky seashore space generally known as Satan’s Slide, about 20 miles south from San Francisco, in line with the California Freeway Patrol.
Along with the motive force, an grownup girl, a 9-year-old boy and a 4-year-old lady had been within the automotive when the crash occurred Monday morning, in line with Brian Pottenger, a battalion chief with Cal Fireplace’s Coastside Fireplace Safety District.
They had been all taken to an area hospital with severe accidents, the freeway patrol stated Tuesday. The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Workplace beforehand said in a social media post that the youngsters had been “unhurt.”
“Based mostly on the proof collected, investigators developed possible trigger to consider this incident was an intentional act,” the state’s freeway patrol stated in a information launch Tuesday saying the motive force’s arrest.
The motive force, from Pasadena, California, was arrested for tried homicide and little one endangerment, in line with the arrest report. He shall be formally booked into San Mateo County Jail after his hospital therapy is accomplished, the freeway patrol added.
The connection between the motive force and passengers remained unclear Tuesday.
The four-door, white Tesla was touring southbound on Freeway 1 simply south of the Tom Lantos Tunnel between Pacifica and Montara on Monday morning when it veered off the roadway. It plunged not less than 250 ft beneath that highway, and a dramatic rescue mission ensued to make sure the occupants had been taken out of the automotive safely.
“The injury to the car would point out that it hit, after which flipped a number of instances,” Pottenger defined. The automotive got here to relaxation on its wheels, he added.
On Tuesday, the freeway patrol identified that Tesla’s tech savvy driving options weren’t concerned in what brought on the crash.
“There was no dedication as to what driving mode the Tesla was in; nonetheless, that doesn’t look like a contributing issue on this incident,” the freeway patrol stated.
The California Freeway Patrol is investigating the crash.
The California Freeway Patrol was alerted in regards to the crash round 10:50 a.m. native time on Monday.
Upon first-responders arrival, all 4 occupants had been acutely aware, and the 2 youngsters had been secured into their automotive seats that remained intact, in line with Pottenger. All had been trapped contained in the smashed automotive, officers stated.
The California Freeway Patrol posted dramatic video of the helicopter reducing a rescuer on a cable to the crash website whereas surf crashed in opposition to the rocks beneath.
As firefighters rappelled down the cliff to the automotive, different first-responders watched via binoculars.
“As we had been doing that, we had been in a position to discover motion within the entrance seat via the windshield,” Pottenger stated. “So we knew that we had not less than one individual that was alive.”
Crews freed the 2 youngsters and used a rope to elevate them up the cliff in baskets. Later, a California Freeway Patrol helicopter hoisted the 2 adults to security.