A San Francisco woman who killed a family of four while speeding on a local street may avoid jail time or community service after pleading no contest to four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter.
According to the SF Chronicle, Mary Fong Lau, 80, changed her plea from not guilty to no contest on Friday. Prosecutors said Lau crashed into a West Portal bus stop in March 2024, killing a couple and their two young children as they waited for transportation to the San Francisco Zoo.
Authorities said Lau’s vehicle struck the transit shelter at a speed exceeding 70 mph.
Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, 40, and his 1-year-old son, Joaquim Ramos Pinto de Oliveira, died at the scene after the impact. Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, 38, and 3-month-old Cauê Ramos Pinto de Oliveira sustained severe injuries and later died at a hospital several days after the crash.
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Families Seek Home Detention and License Revocation
The couple’s families filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lau in July 2024. A second lawsuit was filed in May 2025 seeking to cancel an alleged financial transfer Lau reportedly made after the initial civil case was filed.
After learning that Lau’s sentence may not include prison time, the families requested that she serve home detention and complete community service. They also asked Judge Bruce Chan to revoke her driver’s license.
However, Judge Chan stated that placing Lau in prison would effectively be a death sentence for her. He said his responsibility was to balance the loss of life with other considerations, including Lau’s age, lack of criminal history, and personal trauma. Court records note that Lau’s husband previously died in a car accident several years earlier.
Sentencing details remain pending.