The tragic March crash that killed a family of four will result in vehicular homicide charges against 78-year-old Mary Fong Lau, who was reportedly driving her SUV at double the speed limit, and in the wrong lane at that.
The March 16 car crash where a GLK-Series Mercedes SUV allegedly traveling way too fast careened into an oncoming lane of traffic near the West Portal Station, nicked the West Portal Library, and plowed into a family of four at a bus stop ended up killing all four family members. One of the victims was one-year-old Joaquin Ramos Pinto de Oliveira, another was his three-month-old infant sibling. Two days later, 78-year-old Mary Fong Lau was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving, and driving the wrong way.
Two people killed just now in West Portal near Muni Station pic.twitter.com/CjRKy4shRN
— Alan Burradell (@alanburradell) March 16, 2024
Now Lau will face trial on those charges. The Chronicle reports that DA Brooke Jenkins will charge Lau with four counts of felony vehicular homicide, one for each of the victims. A law enforcement investigation found Lau was not intoxicated, but there was also no mechanical failure on the part of her SUV. Moreover, Lau was driving at speeds between 65 and 72 miles per hour in a 30 MPH zone, and did not attempt to slow down.
“We have evidence the vehicle was traveling at excessive speeds far outside the norm,” Jenkins said at a Tuesday press conference.
Lau has not yet been re-arrested yet, but SFPD Chief Bill Scott said as of the time of the press conference Tuesday that officers were trying to take her into custody.
Lau’s attorney, Sam Geller, said in a statement to the Chronicle that “This tragedy is something that Ms. Lau continues to mourn while she learns to live with this unspeakable reality. She extends her condolences to the entire family, friends and community of the Oliveira-Pinto family. Now that the decision has been made by the District Attorney’s Office to press charges, we will review the evidence and take it one step at a time in presenting her defense.”
The parents who were killed in the crash were 40-year-old father Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, a Brazilian citizen who worked at Apple. The mother Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto was from Portugal and worked in film, most recently at Ridley Scott Films as an executive producer. She was 38.
Related: Infant Dies From Injuries In West Portal Crash, Marking Fourth Victim From the Same Family [SFist]
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