S.F. Driver Accused of Killing Family of 4 in West Portal Crash Likely to Avoid Prison Time

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. A no-contest plea indicates that while a criminal defendant does not admit guilt, they waive their right to a trial and allow the court to treat them as if they were guilty for the purposes of sentencing.

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.

After it was clear Lau was considering changing her plea, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Bruce Chan said that the loss of life was incomprehensible.

Chan said his duty was to balance the deaths with the other factors of the case, including Lau’s age, her lack of criminal history and her remorse, as well as the fact that her own husband had died in a car accident early on in their marriage.

He said that in the hospital after the crash, Lau tearfully told medical staff she wished she could trade places with the family.

{snip}

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.

{snip}