A lot of people are outraged over this case of an elderly woman who killed a family of four while driving on the wrong side of the road and far above the limit, got away clean, and then moved her property around to avoid civil liability.
A woman who prosecutors said killed a family of four while speeding down a residential San Francisco street will likely face no jail time or community service mandates after pleading no contest to four felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter.
Mary Fong Lau, 80, changed her plea from not guilty to no contest Friday afternoon and a San Francisco Superior Court judge indicated he was unlikely to impose prison time. Prosecutors said she crashed into a West Portal bus stop in March 2024, killing a mother, father and their two young children as they waited for transportation to the San Francisco Zoo.
Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, 40, and his 1-year-old son, Joaquim Ramos Pinto de Oliveira, were killed immediately after Lau’s Mercedes sports utility vehicle smashed into the transit shelter in front of the West Portal Branch Library at speeds that investigators said topped 70 mph. Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, 38, and 3-month-old Cauê Ramos Pinto de Oliveira were hospitalized with serious injuries and died days later.
“Mrs. Lau is going to spend the rest of her days living with the knowledge of the harm she has caused to others,” he said. Chan indicated his sentence, which will be confirmed at a subsequent hearing, would likely be two to three years of probation, during which time Lau would be prohibited from driving.
Assistant District Attorney Samantha Persaud, who prosecuted the case, objected to Lau pleading no contest, rather than guilty. She also objected to the judge indicating he would not impose home detention or community service requirements.
Not even a permanent ban on driving, but a 2-3 year ban. After killing two kids. Including a baby.
On Friday, realizing that Chan was considering a sentence that did not include prison time for Lau, the siblings of the two deceased parents pleaded for Lau to be ordered to home detention and “meaningful” community service. They also asked the judge to consider revoking her driver’s license.
And this part is absolutely sickening.
“It’s good news,” he said, smiling at the group. “It’s going to be the end of this chapter.”
Across the long, otherwise empty hallway, a collective cheer among the group rose like a roar, then faded away.
But there’s another part of this that really jumps out at me.
Lau dabbed her eyes with a tissue as Morris and a court Cantonese interpreter advised Lau on her rights and entered the no-contest plea.
Lau had a driver’s license and doesn’t speak English. I have no idea how long she’s been in this country, but long enough to amass property, get a license and kill 4 people.
Forget the specific case for a moment. The premise of getting a license is that you know the rules of the road and can be trusted to drive responsibly. If you don’t speak the language of the country you’re in, you can’t be trusted to do so no matter how many of the rules have been translated for you or how many pictograms are on signs.
If you can’t even be bothered to learn the language of the land, why should we assume you can be trusted to drive?
There’s a reason so many accidents lately seem to involve foreign nationals. If California insists on handing licenses to unqualified drivers, it may be time for other states to stop recognizing California licenses.
How many more people have to die?
Daniel Greenfield
Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism. Daniel became CEO of the David Horowitz Freedom Center in 2025.
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