Mitch McConnell’s billionaire sister-in-law Angela Chao was drunk when she backed Tesla into pond and died: police
Angela Chao, the billionaire sister-in-law of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, was drunk when she accidentally reversed her Tesla into a pond on a Texas ranch and died last month, according to police.
The revelation was detailed in a report released Wednesday by the Blanco County Sheriff’s Office, which said Chao’s blood alcohol level was nearly three times the state’s legal limit when she backed her car into the pond while making a three-point turn.
The sheriff’s office investigation determined Chao’s Feb. 10 death was “an unfortunate accident,” according to the report.
The tragedy occurred as Chao, the former CEO of dry bulk shipping giant Foremost Group, was with seven of her girlfriends at a sprawling, 4,500-acre private property in Texas’ Hill Country for what was supposed to be a celebratory weekend.
After enjoying dinner at the property’s guest house, the 50-year-old decided around 11:37 p.m. to make the short drive in her Tesla Model X SUV to her lodgings on the property.
Video showed her “walk unsteadily to her vehicle,” according to the report.
Moments later, she frantically called her friends in a panic after backing over an embankment and sinking into a pond just yards from the guest house.
One of Chao’s friends, Amber Keinan, told detectives that Chao called her at 11:42 p.m. and said the car was in the pond and she was trapped inside.
The two continued talking on the phone for eight minutes as the car slowly sank until it was completely submerged.
“Chao told Keinan the water was rising and she was going to die and said ‘I love you’ to Keinan prior to the vehicle going under water,” police said in the report.
Other friends desperately swam to the car to try to help while Keinan paddled out in a kayak, police said.
Someone called 911 around 11:55 p.m. and remained on the phone with police for 11 minutes, according to the report.
Police arrived and tried to free Chao from the vehicle, which was about 25 yards from the shoreline, as Chao’s friends screamed, police said.
They were able to break the driver’s side window open and a deputy reached in and grabbed Chao’s hand.
Emergency crews pulled her out of the car and brought her to shore, where she was pronounced dead at 1:40 a.m. Feb. 11.
At the time of her death, Chao had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.233 grams per 100 milliliters — almost three times Texas’ legal limit of .08, according to the police report.
The ranch where Chao died is owned by a corporation connected to her husband, Jim Breyer — a venture capitalist and part-owner of the Boston Celtics with an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Chao’s sister Elaine Chao is married to McConnell (R-Ky.) and served as secretary of labor under President George W. Bush and secretary of transportation in President Donald Trump’s administration.
“Angela’s name in Chinese sounds like the characters for peace and prosperity,” her father, James S.C. Chao, said in a family statement shortly after her death, the Associated Press reported.
“Her absence leaves a void not only in our hearts, but in the Asian-American community.”
