An 80-year-old driver, responsible for the tragic deaths of a couple and their two babies after crashing her Mercedes into a bus stop in San Francisco, received a probation sentence, igniting anger among the victims’ relatives.
Mary Fong Lau was charged following the March 2024 incident where she collided with Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, his wife Matilde Ramos, and their two young children, resulting in the family’s deaths and injuries to several others.
On Friday, a judge handed down a sentence of two years’ probation and suspended Lau’s driving license for three years after she pleaded no contest to the charges.
Lau originally faced four counts of vehicular manslaughter, each carrying a potential sentence of 15 years to life imprisonment, before reaching her plea agreement.
Judge Bruce Chan, in his decision, highlighted Lau’s advanced age, her previously clean record, and her expressions of remorse, according to KRON 4.
During a brief court appearance on Friday, Lau addressed the grieving family, saying, “I want to say to all the family, sorry. Sorry.”
Cardoso de Oliveira, an executive at Apple, and his family were waiting for a bus in San Francisco’s West Portal neighborhood before a trip to zoo when Lau ran them over at a reportedly high rate of speed
The couple and their children — 1-year-old Joaquim and 2-month-old Cauê — were all killed.
Attorneys for the victims’ families said Lau has been driving at more than 70mph in the residential neighborhood at the time of the wreck, KRON 4 reported.
The case has sparked outrage from family members and members of the public, with some arguing the punishment did not reflect the scale of the tragedy.
“Diego and his family were simply going to the zoo on a Sunday morning, celebrating their anniversary,” Olivera’s sister told the outlet.
“The consequences… for her actions are not a true match for the size of the tragedy.”
