Dharmesh A. Patel, 41, also faces enhancements for great bodily injury and domestic violence in the Jan. 2 crash, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said in a statement.
Patel was scheduled to be arraigned Monday. His attorney, Jose Bentley, did not immediately respond to a Monday email seeking comment.
The Pasadena man was seriously injured and taken to a hospital after the car went over the 250-foot cliff at Devil’s Slide, an area along the Pacific Coast Highway about 15 miles south of San Francisco that is known for deadly wrecks. He was recently moved to a jail.
Rescuers initially hailed the family’s survival as a miracle. Firefighters had to cut open the Tesla Model Y to extract the family, including Patel’s 41-year-old wife, 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son.
Patel was later arrested after California Highway Patrol investigators “developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act,” the agency said.
