Posted on 03/09/2024 7:09:04 AM PST by bitt
Angela Chao, Sen. Mitch McConnell’s billionaire sister-in-law, spent her last minutes alive frantically calling her friends for help as her Tesla slowly sank in a pond on a remote Texas ranch, according to a report.
Chao, the billionaire former CEO of dry bulk shipping giant Foremost Group, tragically died at the age of 50 on Feb. 10 after accidentally backing her car into the pond while making a three-point turn.
The driving mishap was detailed in a report by The Wall Street Journal that shed light on the chaotic rescue efforts that ultimately came up short, turning what was supposed to be a celebratory weekend with friends into a nightmare.
Chao invited several of her girlfriends from Harvard Business School to spend the weekend on a gorgeous, sprawling 900-acre private property in Texas’ Hill Country, that included horse stables, a swimming pool and a 10-bedroom guesthouse, the Journal reported.
After eating dinner together and celebrating the Chinese New Year on Friday night, Chao left the guesthouse around 11:30 p.m. to head back to the main house, where her son was sleeping. It was cold out, so she decided to take her Tesla Model X SUV for the four-minute drive rather than walk.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Your post suggests adult beverages may have been a contributing factor.
Mythbusters tested this. It is possible to get out in time.
Are the windows unbreakable? Why is she texting when she should have at least been using the phone as a hammer. You’d think all vehicles would be built to be able to go to a manual unlock.
Are we supposed to care about this?
It's a gear stalk mounted on the right side of the steering column. Similar to your windshield wiper controls. Nothing like the console gear selectors in gas cars.......
Watching a video on it, I could see how she could easily have flicked it into reverse instead of drive....
“how does anyone know that she made a “”three-point turn””. If nobody was with her or saw her, how would they know that detail? And if she was calling her girlfriends still at the guesthouse, did nobody pick up the call or come to her aid? Sorry, but.... not buying it still.”
Read the article!
Horrible way to go. Utter darkness, panic, water rising ...
“Read the article!”
Ooops... mea culpa. But not until I’ve had my first cup of coffee!
Looks like the ranch is near Blanco?
In the United States we teach our children to drive before we teach them how to drink.
-PJ
Totally unpossible.
Texas sees quite a few strange deaths.
JFK
Judge Antonin Scalia
Chao - pun not intended
Horrible way to go. I remember a few years ago actor Anton Yelchin died when his car, which he thought was in park, was in neutral, rolled down the driveway, and crushed him against his large mailbox fixture.
We should not allow someone so old and decrepit to be in public office.
Well, maybe this is just an effort to make bad press for Tesla.
How many lost sales do you suppose this represents?
Maybe China is doing a double-triple kill-shot warning?
“But within minutes, she called one of her friends in a panic. While making a K-turn, she put the car in reverse instead of drive, she told them. While going backwards, the car went over an embankment and into a pond — and was sinking fast.”
“Read the article!”
Ok... read it, but it still doesn’t answer the question of how this really happened. Why did she make a 3-point turn in the first place. Why did she not use the brakes. Was she that drunk?
So many questions... and so very confusing...and considering who she is, there are questions that will probably never be answered.
Looks like the ranch is near Blanco?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not really... here’s a link to an aerial view of it. I have not figured out the exact shape... it will be quite irregular but from what I understand, the airport to the northeast is part of it. Or it may be a separate parcel that was all lumped together.
https://www.google.ca/maps/@30.2055479,-98.3221123,704m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu
” celebrating the Chinese New Year”
I’m sure no booze was involved/s
DWA. Cause of many an accident.
I don’t think you can back a Tesla over obstacles in to a lake.
Under normal circumstances
It has all sorts of sensors and cameras and auto braking systems b
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.