Recently, the trial of a car accident case in San Francisco Superior Court caused a lot of controversy.
Two years ago, 80-year-old Chinese-American Mary Fong Lau (transliteration) drove and killed a family of four Apple executives. Although she pleaded guilty, she received a light sentence, only a suspended sentence, and her driver's license was revoked. What is even more controversial is that after killing the people, Liu quickly sold and transferred multiple properties to avoid huge compensation.
According to a report from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA), the incident occurred on a sunny Saturday afternoon on March 16, 2024, when 78-year-old Mary Fong Lau drove a white Mercedes-Benz SUV eastbound on Ulloa Street and speeded at a speed of more than 70 miles per hour (approximately 113 kilometers per hour), far exceeding the speed limit on this road section.
She swerved into the oncoming lane and onto the sidewalk, hitting a nearby building, including the West Portal Library, before crashing directly into a Lenox Way bus shelter, killing a family of four who were waiting for the bus – parents Diego Cardoso de Oliveira (40) and Matilde Moncada Ramos. Pinto, 38 years old), and their two young sons Joaquin (1 year old) and Cauê (2 months old) – all died.
There were clear double yellow lines, no-travel signs and train warning signs at the accident site, but they failed to prevent the tragedy. The report emphasized that the victim's family was waiting for the bus to the San Francisco Zoo and enjoying a happy family outing, but their lives were taken away in an instant.
tragedy
The victim is an Apple executive
The victims in this accident were a family of four. The father, Diego Cardozo de Oliveira, was a Brazilian creative director who worked at Apple as an Assistant Creative Director and started working at the company in 2019.
The mother, Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, is from Portugal and has served as an executive producer (Executive Producer) of RSA Films (Ridley Scott Associates Films, a well-known advertising production company) since 2022.
The two children are 1-year-old Joaquin and 2-month-old Kauai. Joaquin died at the scene, and Cauai died on March 20 after four days of perseverance in the pediatric intensive care unit at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. His family agreed to donate his organs.
huge controversy
Transfer assets in advance to avoid compensation
The San Francisco police arrested Liu Fang, the driver responsible for the accident, and charged him with manslaughter, reckless driving causing injury, driving the wrong way on a divided highway, and speeding. He was later released on bail.
However, Liu Fang's actions after being released on bail caused huge controversy. She transferred millions of dollars' worth of real estate in her name to a new limited liability company and sold other properties to third parties, including her son-in-law.
Relatives of the murdered family claimed that Liu took these actions to avoid possible financial penalties from civil litigation.
Otherwise, Liu Fang has always refused to plead guilty. However, on February 13, Liu Fang suddenly changed her original "not guilty" position and entered a no contest plea to four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter (four felony charges, corresponding to the four victims). This means that she does not admit guilt, but waives her right to a trial, and the court can directly treat her as guilty and impose a sentence.
The presiding judge, also a Chinese-American named Bruce Chan, said that he was inclined to impose no prison time considering factors such as Ms. Liu’s advanced age (80 years old), her lack of criminal record, the remorse she showed in court, and the fact that imprisonment may cause her to spend the rest of her life in state prison.
The judge initially stated that the final sentence is likely to be a probation of 2 to 3 years, during which Ms. Liu will be permanently prohibited from driving. The judge emphasized: "Ms. Liu will live in the shadow of the harm she caused to others for the rest of her life." He described the accident as an "incomprehensible loss of life", but based on the above considerations, he chose a lighter sentence. Formal sentencing will likely be confirmed at a subsequent hearing.
In response, Diego Cardozo de Oliveira's sister Denise Oliveira also attended the hearing. She said: "It feels like we don't have any rights. I feel very disrespected by this process. This is not justice at all."
Currently, the victim's family is filing a civil lawsuit against Liu Fang, hoping to obtain civil compensation.
