Angela Chao, the CEO of shipping company Foremost Group and sister-in-law of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), died last month after accidentally reversing her Tesla into a pond at a Texas ranch, according to a Friday report in The Wall Street Journal.
Chao, 50, was the younger sister of McConnell’s wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
Though Angela Chao’s Feb. 11 death was reported at the time, The Wall Street Journal’s story sheds new light on the fatal incident.
Chao had been enjoying an evening with friends and was preparing to drive back to a residence on the ranch shortly before midnight when she accidentally reversed her Tesla Model X SUV, the outlet reported.
The vehicle went over an embankment and into a pond after she attempted a three-point turn.
Chao then made a panicked call to a friend as her electric car became further submerged into the Austin-area pond.
Chao’s friends reportedly tried to rescue her, with at least one jumping into the water.
Emergency workers arrived on the scene about 24 minutes after being called, but had to walk to the pond’s location before attempting to rescue Chao “due to the terrain and accessibility of the location,” according to a Blanco County incident report obtained by the Austin American-Statesman.
“The two deputies who were in the water standing on the submerged vehicle requested tools to break the window of the vehicle to perform a possible rescue,” the incident report said, adding that “several tools were used to attempt access to the victim.”
A dive team was also sought but none was available at the time of the incident, according to the document.
Meanwhile, a tow truck arrived to assist, but was unable to reach Chao’s vehicle due to the short length of a cable. A longer cable was later retrieved, and the car was pulled from the pond, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Chao was then found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene after unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate her, the outlet said.
Blanco County fire department and emergency services did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s requests for additional information about the accident.
Shortly after her death, the Blanco County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that Chao “succumbed from being under the water.”
Later, in a letter to state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Blanco County official said that an investigation into Chao’s death was ongoing, noting that it was “not a typical accident.”
“Although the preliminary investigation indicated that 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,” stated the letter, which was obtained by the American-Statesman.
McConnell, the Senate’s longest-serving party leader, announced soon after Chao’s death that he would step down from his position.
“As some of you may know, this has been a particularly difficult time for my family. We tragically lost Elaine’s younger sister Angela just a few weeks ago,” he said Feb. 28.
“When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there’s a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process. Perhaps it is God’s way of reminding you of your own life’s journey to reprioritize the impact of the world that we will all inevitably leave behind,” McConnell added.