The driver of a Tesla that fell 250 feet over an infamous California cliff on Jan. 2 with his family inside the vehicle has been charged with attempted murder, PEOPLE confirms.

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The crash occurred on a notorious stretch of highway known as the Devil’s Slide in San Mateo County, near Pacifica, along the famous Highway 1, which runs the length of California’s coastline. The Devil’s Slide has been the site of a number of fatalities over the past five decades.

The California Highway Patrol said that after speaking to witnesses and putting together evidence at the scene of the crash that “investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act.”

Dharmesh A. Patel and his family.Facebook

Dharmesh A. Patel drove Tesla off a cliff in attempted murder suicide

The CHP said in a news release that it was alerted of “a vehicle over the side of the cliff on SR-1” around 10:50 a.m local time on Jan 2.

Brian Pottenger, a battalion chief for Coastside Fire Protection District/Cal Fire, said it wasan “absolute miracle"that all passengers survived.

Scenes from the Tesla crash rescue.Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock (13692404c) This image from video provided by San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office shows a Tesla vehicle that plunged off a Northern California cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway, near an area known as Devil’s Slide, leaving four people in critical condition, a fire official said. The vehicle fell about 250 feet (76.20 meters) from the highway, the fire official said. Motorists were told to expect delays as rescuers worked. Helicopters were expected to transport four people to hospitals California Car Falls Off Cliff, Pacifica, United States - 01 Dec 2022

Pottenger said the vehicle landed on the beach on its wheels.

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When they first arrived, Pottenger said that authorities did not know how many people were inside, but that they could see there was “movement in the front seat.”

“We knew we had at least one person that was alive,” he added. “We were actually very shocked.”

Speaking at the scene, Pottenger said that authorities “come out here unfortunately all too oftenfor things like this.”

“They never live,” he said,the Associated Press reported. “This was an absolute miracle.”

source: people.com