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Billionaire CEO Angela Chao died after Tesla reversed into pond: ‘Desperately scratched windows but…’. What happened?
Angela Chao was pronounced dead after she accidentally put her Tesla in reverse mode and the car backed into a pond on a private ranch in Texas.
Prominent Texas-based CEO and sister-in-law of US senator Mitch McConnell Angela Chao died last month in what was initially termed as an accident. But investigations into her demise revealed the real circumstances surrounding her death which included her desperate struggle to survive when her Tesla car reversed into a lake.
Who is Angela Chao?
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Angela Chao was a graduate of Harvard University and published several books on economics, international trade, and finance. Her sister Elaine Chao was the transportation secretary under former US president Donald Trump. She is survived by her husband Jim Breyer, a venture capitalist, and a three-year-old son.
What was reported about Angela Chao before?
The billionaire was pronounced dead after she accidentally put her Tesla in reverse mode and the car backed into a pond on a private ranch in Texas. Following this, it was reported that water flooded the car and owing to her inability to get out, she drowned inside the car. The accident is said to have happened on February 9 after Angela Chao met her friends at a guesthouse on her ranch in Texas. After this, she was driving to her nearby residence within the property but when Tesla car reversed into a nearby pond, she was stuck in the submerged vehicle. She even tried to break her car windows, investigations showed but Tesla's car windows are made of laminated glass to protect occupants during crashes which made them difficult to shatter.
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What about emergency responders? Were they able to help Angela Chao?
Emergency responders- EMS teams and firefighters- reached the scene to find Angela Chao's submerged Tesla but could not take her out of the vehicle for about an hour.
What have investigations revealed on her death?
Angela Chao mistakenly put the car in reverse instead of drive just a day before her death, The Wall Street Journal reported while Business Insider's investigation revealed numerous consumer grievances lodged with the US Department of Transportation, underscoring issues with Tesla's reverse function.
