In the weeks following Chao's death, disturbing details have emerged about her final moments. As her vehicle sank into the water, Angela desperately called her nearby friends for help. They quickly rushed to the scene, with one woman even jumping into the water, but tragically, they were unable to save Angela.
From New York Post:
The driving mishap was detailed in a report by The Wall Street Journal that shed light on the chaotic rescue efforts that ultimately came up short, turning what was supposed to be a celebratory weekend with friends into a nightmare.
Chao invited several of her girlfriends from Harvard Business School to spend the weekend on a gorgeous, sprawling 900-acre private property in Texas’ Hill Country, that included horse stables, a swimming pool and a 10-bedroom guesthouse, the Journal reported.
After eating dinner together and celebrating the Chinese New Year on Friday night, Chao left the guesthouse around 11:30 p.m. to head back to the main house, where her son was sleeping. It was cold out, so she decided to take her Tesla Model X SUV for the four-minute drive rather than walk.
But within minutes, she called one of her friends in a panic. While making a K-turn, she put the car in reverse instead of drive, she told them. While going backwards, the car went over an embankment and into a pond — and was sinking fast.
Her friends immediately ran to help and one woman jumped in the pond, the Journal reported. The property’s ranch manager and his wife came outside after hearing the commotion and somebody called 911.
Blanco County emergency units finally arrived at 12:28 a.m. — a full 24 minutes after they received the call, according to an incident report obtained by the paper. Due to the rugged terrain, a number of responders got out of their cars and walked to the scene.
One responder described the Tesla as completely submerged. Sheriff’s deputies even stood on top of it during the rescue efforts, trying to bust open a window.
