Angela Chao attends the AFI Awards Luncheon at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 12, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Frazer Harrison | Getty Images
Foremost Group CEO Angela Chao was drunk when she accidentally drove her Tesla into a pond on a ranch she owned with her husband, venture capitalist Jim Breyer, after meeting close friends there last month, according to a police report released on Wednesday.
Chao, who died in the Tesla after friends and emergency responders failed to free her from the vehicle, had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.233, a toxicology report showed.
That’s almost three times the legal limit for driving on public roads in Texas.
Chao, 50, was the sister-in-law of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is married to her sister, former Cabinet secretary Elaine Chao.
The new report details the desperate, unsuccessful attempt to get Chao out of the Tesla
Chao informs in a calm voice [Amber Landeau-Kienan] She is unable to exit the vehicle,” the Blanco County Sheriff’s Department report states.
“Chao told Keinan that the water was rising and she would die, and said “I love you” to Keinan before the vehicle went underwater.”
Landeau-Kienan got into a kayak and went into the pond to try to get to Chao, the report said.
According to the report, Chao drove into the pond at the Johnson City ranch in late February after dinner in the property’s guest house with seven “close friends,” some of whom had attended Harvard Business School with her.
According to the police report, she was on her way back to the main house at the ranch when her Tesla fell into the water after she put it in reverse and over a limestone wall.
Chao called Landeau-Kienan around 11:42 p.m., the report said.
“Chao told Kienan in a calm voice that she was in the ‘lake’ (pond),” the report said.
Angela Chao became CEO of Foremost Group in 2018. The company was founded in 1964 by her father, James Chao.
Chao has held board positions at the American Bureau of Shipping Council, the Board of Dean’s Advisors at Harvard Business School and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Her first husband, investment banker Bruce Wasserstein, died months after their marriage in 2009.
Breyer is part owner of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. He previously served on the boards of Facebook, Walmart, Marvel Entertainment, News Corp. and Dell.
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McConnell announced in late February that he would step down as Senate Republican leader at the end of the year.
McConnell cited Angela Chaos’ death in his Senate statement revealing his plan to leave the leadership position.
“This has been a particularly difficult time for my family,” McConnell said.
“We tragically lost Elaine’s younger sister Angela just a few weeks ago,” he said. “When you lose a loved one, especially at a young age, the grieving process involves a certain amount of introspection.”
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
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2024-03-20 21:38:00
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