A San Francisco judge sentenced the elderly driver who killed a young family of four in West Portal in 2024 to two years of probation, 200 hours of mandatory community service, and revoked her license for three years, and family members said they felt disrespected by the sentence.
Family members expressed outrage Friday after San Francisco Superior Court Judge Bruce Chan sentenced Mary Fong Lau, 80, to two years of probation, 200 hours of community service, and revoked her license for three years in the 2024 West Portal crash that killed a family of four.
As SFist reported last month, Lau changed her plea from "not guilty" to "no contest" to four counts of vehicular manslaughter in February.
Prosecutors said Lau struck and killed Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, his wife, Matilde Pinto, their 1-year-old baby, Joaquin, and 2-month-old infant, Caue, while driving at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, veering into oncoming traffic, then crashing into the bus shelter where the family was waiting for the bus, as SFist reported at the time.
In their victim impact statements Friday, family members described the aftermath of the crash, as KQED reports, including the decision to remove baby Caue from life support so his organs could be donated to other children.
“Diego and his family were simply going to the zoo on a Sunday morning,” Oliveira’s sister said, per KRON4, “celebrating their anniversary.”
Lau, who listened through an interpreter for most of the hearing, stood and faced the victims’ family, apologizing and bowing as she said, “Sorry” multiple times.
Family members, who had pushed for jail time, or at least one year home detention, said the light sentence left them feeling ignored and disrespected, as KPIX reports.
“The consequences … for her actions are not a true match for the size of the tragedy,” Oliveira’s sister, Denise Oliveira, told KRON4.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins also said the sentence lacked accountability for the deaths.
"Each and every day, we have judges who decide that they don't want to trust the process in and of itself, that they'd rather take justice into their own hands and determine what that looks like,” said Jenkins, per KPIX. “And in this case, that is not what this family is receiving due to this open plea to the court. And so, at this point, our hands are tied.”
The judge cited Lau’s age, lack of a criminal record, and her expressions of remorse.
Authorities said it remains unclear why Lau crashed into the bus shelter. Investigators determined she wasn’t using her phone or under the influence, and she didn’t experience a medical emergency, as KPIX reports. No mechanical issues with the SUV were found that could explain the acceleration.
In a previous statement, per KRON4, the victims’ family described the couple as warm, loving parents devoted to their two young sons. Pinto, who was born in Portugal, and Oliveira, originally from Brazil, married in 2020 and later moved from the United Kingdom to San Francisco, where Pinto worked as a film and advertising producer and Oliveira was a creative director at Apple.
A final restitution payment, expected to range from about $67,000 to nearly $300,000, per KQED, will be determined at a later date.
As SFist reported Friday, family members hosted a vigil Thursday honoring the family.
Image: Livable City
Previously: Driver In West Portal Crash That Killed Family of Four Pleads No Contest, Judge Sounds Lenient
