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full screen Billionaire Angela Chao backed into a pond and drowned in her Tesla. Photo: Google Maps/Getty
Top CEO and billionaire Angela Chao, 50, backed into a pond at her ranch.
She called in a panic for help as the car sank into the water.
But her Tesla had reinforced windows that were “almost impossible to shatter,” according to a new report.
It could have been her death.
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Chao, a super-rich shipping executive and sister-in-law to top Republican Mitch McConnell, was on her way home from a dinner with friends when tragedy struck at her Texas ranch a couple of weeks ago.
The newspaper The Wall Street Journal now provides information which sheds new light on the incident.
Rolled into dust
After driving a short distance into the property and stopping temporarily, she then accidentally put her automatic transmission Tesla into reverse.
Angela Chao rolled backwards down a slope and into a pond.
The billionaire’s husband Jim Breyer was on his way to a conference and instead she called a friend in a panic while the car slowly sank into the water.
The emergency services were alerted and Chao’s friend made it to the scene of the accident.
He had time to throw himself into the pond in a fruitless attempt to save the 50-year-old top manager before the rescue service arrived on the scene.
Struggled for hours
The fire department had personnel on the scene 24 minutes after the first alarm call.
By then the car was completely under water and police officers who had been called out on the alarm stood on the roof of the car and tried to get the woman out, the newspaper writes.
The desperate struggle to save Chao went on for several hours. They set up searchlights and got divers there.
A tow truck that arrived at the scene was found to not have a cable long enough to pull the Tesla out of the pond.
When they finally recovered the vehicle, the car was completely filled with water and Angela Chao was found lifeless in the driver’s seat.
Resuscitation attempts continued for 43 minutes.
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full screen According to a new report, it was almost impossible to break the windows of the car. Photo: Alamy (File image)
Reinforced windows and sunroof
Now the car’s construction is said to have partially contributed to the tragic outcome, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Because of the reinforced glass used in the Model X’s windows and sunroof, it was basically impossible for emergency services to shatter them underwater.
This has also previously been shown through tests by trade associations.
Previously, a motorist trapped under water could manually crank down the window to get out.
But the modern electric window lifts give an affected motorist only seconds to push down the window when a vehicle is about to descend – something that in such a situation is likely to go against all one’s instincts, writes the Daily Mail.
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full screen Angela Chao is the sister of Elaine Chao who is married to top Republican politician Mitch McConnell. Photo: AP
Police investigation
Police in Blanco County have opened a preliminary investigation to investigate whether a crime was committed in connection with the death.
Angela Chao was the sister of Elaine Chao, a former minister in Donald Trump’s administration and married to Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
– This is an extremely difficult time for my family, McConnell said recently during a speech in the Senate.
– Angela is an amazing woman, a charismatic and visionary leader and deeply loved by all her sisters, all our family and our friends, her father James Chao said after her death, writes the Daily Mail.