Shipping tycoon Angela Chao was intoxicated when she drove her vehicle into a pond at a Texas ranch last month, resulting in her death, according to police.
In a 62-page report released on March 20, the Blanco County Sheriff’s Office in Texas branded the death of Ms. Chao—who is the sister-in-law of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)—an “unfortunate accident.”
The Sheriff’s Office said it found Ms. Chao’s blood alcohol level was nearly three times the state’s legal limit when she died, with toxicology tests determining the businesswoman had a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.233 grams per 100 milliliters; above the legal limit in Texas of .08.
Ms. Chao, who served as the chairwoman and CEO of her family’s shipping business, the Foremost Group, died on Feb. 11 after having dinner and drinks with a group of friends at a ranch near Johnson City, west of Austin, according to officials.
According to the report, the 50-year-old and her friends had headed back to the main house on the ranch after having dinner and drinks, on Feb. 10.
However, while leaving, Ms. Chao backed her vehicle, reportedly a Tesla Model X SUV, into a pond on the property.
Surveillance video footage from a guest house on the ranch shows the businesswoman walking “unsteadily to her vehicle,” according to the report.
Chao Called Friend to Say ‘Goodbye’
The conversation lasted roughly eight minutes as the car slowly sank, Ms. Keinan told detectives, adding that the two friends had exchanged their goodbyes.“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 goodbyes to Keinan.”
Friends frantically swam to reach the car while another paddled out to the submerged vehicle in a kayak, according to the report.
Meanwhile, another friend called 911.
Law enforcement officials and firefighters who arrived at the scene all entered the pond and attempted to open the Tesla and pull Ms. Chao out but they were unable to do so, according to the report.
Eventually, emergency crews broke the window on the driver’s side, and located Ms. Chao’s hand; pulling her out of the car and onto the pond edge where she was pronounced dead at 1:40 a.m. Feb. 11.
‘Terrible Tragedy’
Ms. Chao lived in Austin, which is roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Blanco County. She was the youngest of six sisters to immigrant parents who moved to the United States from China in the late 1950s.Her eldest sibling, Elaine Chao, is married to Mr. McConnell and served as transportation secretary under President Donald Trump and labor secretary under President George W. Bush.
Ms. Chao’s family shipping business, the Foremost Group, operates a global fleet of vessels carrying dry bulk cargo. Her family has a net worth of $14.2 billion, according to Forbes. The family also forged deep political and business ties in China, with Ms. Chao having previously served as a board member of the Bank of China, as well as of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, which is state-owned and supplies ships to the Chinese military.
Ms. Chao’s husband, Jim Breyer, is a billionaire venture capitalist.
In a statement to Business Insider, Mr. Breyer said: “I am heartbroken by this terrible tragedy. I am so appreciative for the remarkable efforts of the many first responders in Blanco County who did everything possible to save my wonderful wife’s life.”
Elsewhere, a spokesman for Ms. Chao’s father, James S.C. Chao, and the Chao family said in a statement to The New York Times that Ms. Chao’s death “was a terrible tragedy, and words cannot describe the family’s profound grief.”
“The family is grateful for the first responders and friends who tried so hard to save her,” the statement said.
