A tragedy…
Angela Chao, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s sister-in-law, reportedly made a phone call to friends in her last moments after accidentally driving her vehicle into a pond.
Chao accidentally put her vehicle into reverse instead of drive while attempting a three-point turn, causing it to go backward and sink into the remote body of water at a Texas ranch on Feb. 10, a new report claims, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The billionaire and former Foremost Group CEO hosted a gathering of several friends from Harvard Business School at her secondary private residence including a 10-bedroom guesthouse in Texas’ Hill Country, according to the outlet. Chao decided to drive her Tesla four minutes to return to her primary residence instead of walking at 11:30 p.m. due to the cold weather.
The Tesla Model X SUV sunk fast after McConnell’s sister-in-law backed into the pond after failing to make a K-turn, the outlet reported.
Blanco County emergency units arrived at 12:28 a.m., one hour after Chao’s Teslas entered the water and 24 minutes after the incident was reported, according to the outlet. Multiple emergency personnel exited their vehicles due to the rough terrain before unsuccessfully attempting to break the car’s windows, the outlet reported. One sheriff’s deputy stood on top of the Tesla.Â
The Tesla was finally removed from the pond by a two-man rescue crew at 12:56 a.m., the outlet reported. However, Chao was unresponsive and EMS responders could not revive her after 43 minutes of resuscitation attempts.
While addressing the tragic incident on the Senate floor, McConnell said that the incident caused a “particularly difficult time” for his family, adding that “there’s a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process.”
People don’t realize that a wrong turn in life can be dangerous. In this case it certainly was. Is there some lesson that can be learned from this terrible experience? America needs to make “right” turns.