Current:Home > InvestAngela Chao Case: Untangling the Mystery Surrounding the Billionaire's Death -Summit Capital Strategies
Angela Chao Case: Untangling the Mystery Surrounding the Billionaire's Death
SignalHub View
Date:2025-04-10 17:54:36
More details surrounding Angela Chao's untimely death have emerged.
The billionaire shipping tycoon—whose sister is married to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell—died in February at the age of 50. At the time, information surrounding Chao's passing was sparse, with her family only confirming that she had died in a car accident.
Now, more than a month later, officials released their findings into the incident that took Chao's life, revealing her harrowing last moments. In a Blanco County Sheriff's Office report obtained by Associated News, authorities determined that Chao was intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of nearly three times the state's legal limit when she drove her Tesla into a pond located on her and husband Jim Breyer's Johnson City, Texas ranch.
Calling her death an "unfortunate accident," officials said Chao exchanged words with her friend Amber Keinan on the phone as her car filled with water.
"Chao told Keinan the water was rising and she was going to die and said 'I love you,'" the police report stated. "Chao then said her good byes to Keinan."
Here is everything that's known about Chao's death:
Who is Angela Chao?
Chao was chairwoman and CEO of the Foremost Group, a shipping business founded by her father James Chao during the 1960s. Her family—which includes older sister Elaine Chao, the wife of Mitch McConnell who served as the Secretary of Labor in George W. Bush's administration and as the Secretary of Transportation during Donald Trump's presidency—is estimated to have a net worth of $14.2 billion, according to Forbes.
Chao was married to Jim Breyer, a billionaire venture capitalist, at the time of her death.
How did Angela Chao die?
According to the Blanco County Sheriff's Office report, Chao died after accidentally reversing her Tesla into a pond near the guest lodge of her Texas ranch on Feb. 10. She hosted a dinner with friends earlier in the night, authorities said in the document, and got into her car around 11:30 p.m. when guests were leaving.
Her friend Amber Keinan told investigators that Chao called her at 11:42 p.m. and said she was trapped inside the car as it filled with water. The conversation lasted 8 minutes, with Chao saying that she was going to die and telling Keinan "I love you," according to the police report.
What happened to Angela Chao after her car went into the water?
The police report about Chao's case said her friends attempted to reach her while she was in the water, including by swimming and kayaking to her submerged vehicle. Chao was freed after first responders—who were called in around 11:55 p.m.—went into the pond and broke the driver's side window, per the report.
When did Angela Chao die?
Chao was pronounced dead at 1:40 a.m. Feb. 11 after rescuers pulled her and her car to shore.
What was Angela Chao's blood alcohol level?
A toxicology test showed that the shipping magnate had a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.233 grams per 100 milliliters, according to the report. The reading was above the .08 legal limit in Texas.
E! News has reached out to the Blanco County Sheriff's Office for additional comment but hasn't heard back.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (62)
Related
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- Bots, bootleggers and Baptists
- Inside Julia Roberts' Busy, Blissful Family World as a Mom of 3 Teenagers
- The 15 Best Sweat-Proof Beauty Products To Help You Beat the Heat This Summer
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- A new film explains how the smartphone market slipped through BlackBerry's hands
- Light a Sparkler for These Stars Who Got Married on the 4th of July
- Why Won’t the Environmental Protection Agency Fine New Mexico’s Greenhouse Gas Leakers?
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- The 43 Best 4th of July 2023 Sales You Can Still Shop: J.Crew, Good American, Kate Spade, and More
Ranking
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Shakira Makes a Literal Fashion Statement With NO Trench Coat
- DEA moves to revoke major drug distributor's license over opioid crisis failures
- Companies are shedding office space — and it may be killing small businesses
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Is the California Coalition Fighting Subsidies For Rooftop Solar a Fake Grassroots Group?
- Receding rivers, party poopers, and debt ceiling watchers
- Strip Mining Worsened the Severity of Deadly Kentucky Floods, Say Former Mining Regulators. They Are Calling for an Investigation
Recommendation
DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
Inside Clean Energy: Here Come the Battery Recyclers
It’s Happened Before: Paleoclimate Study Shows Warming Oceans Could Lead to a Spike in Seabed Methane Emissions
Fifty Years After the UN’s Stockholm Environment Conference, Leaders Struggle to Realize its Vision of ‘a Healthy Planet’
The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
Selling Sunset's Amanza Smith Finally Returns Home After Battle With Blood Infection in Hospital
Biden says debt ceiling deal 'very close.' Here's why it remains elusive
Parties at COP27 Add Loss and Damage to the Agenda, But Won’t Discuss Which Countries Are Responsible or Who Should Pay