US CEO Angela Chao was drunk when she drove Tesla into pond and died, police say
- The shipping industry executive and sister-in-law to Senator Mitch McConnell had a blood-alcohol level nearly 3 times the legal limit during the fatal accident
- Friends and law enforcement officers had tried to pull Chao from her car after she backed it into the water
Angela Chao, a shipping industry CEO and sister-in-law to US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, was intoxicated when she drove into a pond and died last month in Texas, according to a law enforcement report released on Wednesday.
The investigation by the Blanco County Sheriff’s Office concluded that Chao’s death was an “unfortunate accident” and her blood alcohol level was nearly three times the state’s legal limit.
Chao, 50, died the night of February 10 after having dinner with a large group at a ranch near Johnson City, west of Austin. The report describes a frantic scene as friends and deputies tried to pull Chao from her Tesla after she backed it into the pond near a guest lodge on the property.
A friend, Amber Keinan, told detectives that Chao called her at 11.42pm and said the car was in the water and she was trapped inside. The conversation lasted eight minutes as the car slowly sank.
“Chao told Keinan the water was rising and she was going to die and said ‘I love you,’” the report says. “Chao then said her good byes to Keinan.”
Friends swam to the car while another paddled out with a kayak, according to the report. Someone else called emergency services at 11.55pm and remained on the phone for 11 minutes.