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submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by FuckyWucky@hexbear.net to c/the_dunk_tank@hexbear.net

Sorry for Daily Mail posting but they had the most descriptive title funnily enough.


Mitch McConnell's sister-in-law Angela Chao drowned in her Tesla after the vehicle's strengthened glass was unable to be broken after she reversed into a pond.

Chao, who was the CEO of shipping company Foremost Group, died last month after her car entered a body of water on a private ranch in Texas.

Disturbing details have since emerged detailing the frenzied rescue mission to save the 50-year-old.

In a report by the Wall Street Journal, the outlet detail how Chao had drove her Tesla home from an evening with friends when she accidentally put the car in reverse.

Due to the type of strengthened glass used in the Model X's windows and sunroof, attempts to smash into the vehicle proved redundant.

According to testing done by the American Automobile Association, the type of glass used on the vehicle is nearly impossible to break underwater.

Chao had been spending the weekend with her closest girlfriends celebrating the Chinese New Year while her husband, venture capitalist Jim Breyer, was away at a conference

Chao, who was the CEO of shipping company Foremost Group, died last month after her car entered a body of water on a private ranch in Texas, an aerial shot of the property is seen here

Chao had been making a three-point turn before the deadly accident and put the car in reverse instead of drive, sending it down an embankment and into a pond.

As the car dipped below the water line, Chao called a friend in a panic to explain her situation and over the next several hours rescuers tried in vain to rescue her.

Shortly after making her call, one friend jumped into the pond to attempt to rescue her before responders arrived on the scene.

As the car dipped below the water line, Chao called a friend in a panic to explain her situation and over the next several hours rescuers tried in vain to rescue her.

In an incident report obtained by the WSJ, one fire department crew arrived on the scene 24 minutes after getting a call.

One responder described the vehicle as being completely submerged, with some deputies from a sheriff's department even able to stand on it as they attempted to rescue Chao.

Lighting had to be set up, and dive teams had to be brought in to aid the rescue mission as well as a tow truck.

Despite arriving on the scene, the truck didn't have a cable long enough to reach the car and the driver was also said to have been afraid of being electrocuted.

After the vehicle was eventually pulled from the water, hundreds of gallons rushed out as the doors were opened, with Chao being found unresponsive.

Chao is said to have made a mistake with the gearshift on her metallic blue Tesla, the model is seen here, putting the car into reverse and sending into a pond

Efforts to resuscitate Chao began immediately with paramedics attempting to revive her for 43 minutes.

Typically, the driver and passengers of a sinking car would only have only around 60 seconds to get out before the vehicle would become extremely difficult to escape from.

Previously, drivers would have been able to wind down the window to get out, but nowadays a driver would need to roll the electric windows within seconds of an accident occurring - something that might seem counterintuitive.

Opening a car door would also prove next to impossible given the water pressure against the side of the door.

The tragic death is also now being probed as part of a criminal investigation, according to Blanco County Sheriff's Office.

In a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Blanco County Sheriff's Office said: 'This incident was not a typical accident.

'Although the preliminary investigation indicated this was an unfortunate accident, the Sheriff’s Office is still investigating this accident as a criminal matter until they have sufficient evidence to rule out criminal activity.'

No further details on what kind of criminality may have befallen Chao were shared.

On Friday night, in response to The Journal's reporting, Chao's husband simply wrote: 'We are heartbroken.'

Chao's father, James S.C. Chao, remembered his youngest daughter as 'thoughtful, kind and devoted' as well as being a much-loved 'charismatic and visionary leader.'

He said in a statement: 'It is with a heavy heart and deep sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved youngest daughter, Angela Chao.

'Angela is a brilliant woman, a charismatic and visionary leader and much-loved by all her sisters, our entire family and friends.

''As a daughter, sister, mother, aunt, wife and friend, she was unfailingly filial, thoughtful, kind and devoted.'

The family added: 'As a trail blazer for women in the executive suite, she inspired others to pursue their dreams. She also loved music and tried the French horn as her instrument when young, insisting on carrying it herself to every lesson.

'These early experiences created a lifelong, passionate commitment to the fine arts.

'Angela's name in Chinese sounds like the characters for peace and prosperity. She certainly gave more than her share of both to this world.'

Chao was the sister of McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, who has served as secretary of both the Labor and Transportation departments.

McConnell announced last month that he would be stepping down as the Republican leader in the Senate later this year.

Speaking on the Senate floor, he said: 'This has been a particularly difficult time for my family. We tragically lost Elaine's younger sister Angela, just a few weeks ago.

'When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there's a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process.'

Angela Chao was married to Jim Breyer, who has an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion.

Breyer is part owner of the Boston Celtics, and previously served on the boards of Facebook, Walmart, Marvel, News Corp and Dell.

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[-] Frank@hexbear.net 39 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

over the next several hours rescuers tried in vain to rescue her.

What a horrific way to die. RIP Bozo!

crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party crab-party

real "The wages of sin are death" and "you can't take it with you" hours. What's a billion dollars worth in the face of some tempered glass and four feet of water? Nothing. Absofuckinglutely nothing.

God, imagine having a billion dollars and dying because some shithead failson cut corners on basic safety features in your meme car. You have a billion fucking dollars! A BILLION DOLLARS! Why don't you have some bullshit james bond spy car with an hour of onboard oxygen and rocket engines and an automatic heroin dispenser? Why don't you have a fucking professional driver? Why don't you have a cadre of boyguards in a follow car specifically to rescue you from stupid shit that happens to billionaires? HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH

[-] VILenin@hexbear.net 18 points 7 months ago
[-] Frank@hexbear.net 6 points 7 months ago

If I want to have a bunch of twinks with machine guns follow me around that's my business, okay?

[-] kristina@hexbear.net 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Stealing Gaddafi's drip but also the bodyguards are twinks with assless chaps

[-] emizeko@hexbear.net 2 points 7 months ago
[-] nick@midwest.social 35 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Too bad…

That she wasn’t driving Mitch

[-] Crucible@hexbear.net 35 points 7 months ago

They can't assemble any of these cars without pieces of the body misaligning but somehow the glass is unbreakable

[-] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 26 points 7 months ago

No crumple zones on the cybertruck but the windows can take a .50 bmg at point blank range so-true

[-] anonochronomus@hexbear.net 26 points 7 months ago

Now that the pond has tasted the flesh of the rich, it's never going to be satisfied again. I guess we gotta keep feeding it shrug-outta-hecks we don't want to anger the pond.

[-] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 7 months ago

That was clearly the debt collection from Ebisu.

[-] Sasuke@hexbear.net 25 points 7 months ago

if it isn't already, 'never get into a tesla' should be an official trueanon rule

[-] Ildsaye@hexbear.net 23 points 7 months ago

Teslas are honorary helicopters on this blessed day

[-] LeZero@hexbear.net 14 points 7 months ago
[-] PoY@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 7 months ago

it was told it could be anything so it chose to be a titan submarine

[-] krolden@lemmy.ml 22 points 7 months ago

Lmao we need more news articles like this

[-] itappearsthat@hexbear.net 22 points 7 months ago

wasn't melon-musk going on about how the teslas can be temporarily used as boats a few years back or some shit

[-] Hestia@hexbear.net 17 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I thought it was specifically in regards to cybertrucks

corrodes instantly

[-] Alaskaball@hexbear.net 16 points 7 months ago

I guess his designers decided to make it a submarine instead

[-] PoY@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 7 months ago

single use submersible

[-] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 21 points 7 months ago

Obviously comrade Musk wanted her compromised to a permanent end.

[-] DirtyPair@hexbear.net 14 points 7 months ago

Comrade Musk... I was wrong about you... rat-salute-2

[-] bennieandthez@lemmygrad.ml 21 points 7 months ago

Pond took "eat the rich" seriously

[-] rafflesia@hexbear.net 19 points 7 months ago
[-] GinAndJuche@hexbear.net 15 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)
[-] PoY@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 7 months ago
[-] lurker_supreme@hexbear.net 13 points 7 months ago
[-] Trudge@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 7 months ago

That's a horrific way to go. Was she drunk? I can't imagine a sober person accidentally reversing into a pond and drowning.

[-] footfaults@hexbear.net 24 points 7 months ago

Who has a pond that they can accidentally reverse into. Rich people problems

[-] bennieandthez@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 7 months ago

Must have been, the accident sounds incredibly stupid lol

[-] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)
[-] infuziSporg@hexbear.net 12 points 7 months ago

The pond in the satellite photo is less than a quarter of an acre. How is that deep enough for a car to sink in?

[-] BlueMagaChud@hexbear.net 4 points 7 months ago

it's 3100kg, it'll sink pretty deep in soft soils too

[-] infuziSporg@hexbear.net 3 points 7 months ago

A 3100kg object that is any larger than 3.1 m^3 will float on water.

But my point was about the pond, and why a pond that's barely twice as long as an average house is any more than 8 feet deep.

[-] the_itsb@hexbear.net 11 points 7 months ago

She also loved music and tried the French horn as her instrument when young, insisting on carrying it herself to every lesson.

😂

Who else would carry it???? It's a fucking French horn, not a sousaphone, jfc 😂

"Please, carry this plastic recorder to my lesson, its weight is too much for my delicate, wealthy wrists!"

[-] myrrh@ttrpg.network 2 points 7 months ago

...have you watched the vast of night?..

[-] Hello_Kitty_enjoyer@hexbear.net 7 points 7 months ago

Not my problem

[-] emizeko@hexbear.net 2 points 7 months ago

Speaking on the Senate floor, he said: 'This has been a particularly difficult time for my family. We tragically lost Elaine's younger sister Angela, just a few weeks ago.

am a little surprised that this happened February 11th and we're just finding out about it the last couple of days

this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2024
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