Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s sister-in-law, Angela Chao, has died after she accidentally put her Tesla in reverse, resulting in the car going into a pond at her private ranch in Texas, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Angela Chao, the sister-in-law of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, has ‘drowned’ after she accidentally reversed her Tesla car into a pond in Texas, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Angela Chao, the CEO of shipping firm Foremost Group, died last month after her car was submerged in a pond at her private ranch. Chilling details have emerged about how first responders were unable to break the glass window underwater and rescue the 50-year-old billionaire.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the incident took place when Angela Chao had driven her Tesla home from an evening with her friends when she accidentally put her car in reverse.
HOW DID THE INCIDENT UNFOLD
Angela Chao made a three-point turn and put the car in reverse instead of driving mode, resulting in the car going down into the pond.
Angela Chao had been spending the weekend with her friends celebrating the Chinese New Year as her husband and venture capitalist Jim Breyer was busy attending a conference.
When the Tesla dipped below the water line, the 50-year-old made frantic calls to her friends to explain about the incident. A friend of Angela Chao arrived at the scene and jumped into the pond in a bid to rescue her before rescue authorities arrived.
According to an incident report, a fire department crew arrived at the spot 24 minutes after getting a call, Wall Street Journal reported.
A responder at the site said Angela Chao’s car was completely submerged and some deputies from a sheriff’s department stood on it as they tried to rescue the 50-year-old billionaire.
During the rescue mission, lighting had to be set up and diving teams were called to the spot as well. A tow truck was pressed into service.
The truck did not have a cable long enough to haul the car up and the driver was believed to have been afraid of being electrocuted, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The type of glass used in Angela Chao’s Tesla was hard and nearly impossible to break underwater, according to testing done by the American Automobile Association.
When the vehicle was eventually pulled up from the water, the doors were forced open with Angela Chao found unresponsive.
Paramedics began to revive the 50-year-old and attempted to do so for 43 minutes, but in vain.
Reacting to his wife’s death, Jim Breyer said on Friday night, “We are heartbroken.”
Jim Breyer, who has an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion, is the part owner of the Boston Celtics. He previously served on the boards of Facebook, Walmart, Marvel, News Corp and Dell.
Angela Chao was the sister of McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who served as the secretary of both the Labour and Transportation departments.