Angela Chao's blood alcohol content nearly 3x legal limit before her fatal drive into pond
The investigation into Angela Chao, the CEO of a global shipping company who died at a private Central Texas ranch last month, found she inadvertently reversed her Tesla SUV into a stock pond and drowned as rescue attempts faltered, according to an incident report obtained Wednesday by the Austin American-Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network.
A toxicology screening ordered as part of the month-long investigation indicated Chao, 50, had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.233. The legal limit to drive in Texas is 0.08.
The findings released Wednesday are the most detailed account to date by officials in Blanco County. The ranch is located outside Johnson City, about 40 miles west of Austin. The release comes after the sheriff's office repeatedly declined to provide information about the incident other than a brief statement characterizing the death as an "unfortunate accident."
Chao's older sister, Elaine Chao, served as U.S. labor secretary in the George W. Bush administration and U.S. transportation secretary in the Trump administration and is married to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
In a statement Wednesday, Robert Woodring, chief deputy for the sheriff's office, said the report's release signals the end of its investigation into her death.
Chao had invited seven friends to the ranch for a weekend getaway, according to the report. They had attended a Pitbull concert in Austin the night before.
On Feb. 10 at 11:53 p.m., a sheriff's deputy received a 911 call describing how a woman — later identified as Chao — had driven into a stock pond located between the ranch's main house and a guest house. The deputy arrived at the ranch about 17 minutes later and saw a man standing on top of a submerged vehicle about 25 yards from the pond's bank, according to the report.
The report says deputies, who jumped into the pond after stripping off some of their gear, struggled to extract Chao from the vehicle. The deputies attempted to find her by swimming through an opened back passenger door but were "unable to," according to the report.
The report describes a hectic scene. As the rescue effort continued, a group of Chao's friends were "screaming frantically" at the deputies from the pond's back. They told deputies they knew Chao was inside the vehicle because she had called one of them as the Tesla was sinking.
The phone call lasted eight minutes, according to the report. During the call, Chao told her friend she was unable to get out, the water was rising and that she was going to die. She told the friend, "I love you," before the vehicle went under water.
The friend Chao called had entered the pond with a kayak to attempt a rescue, according to the report.
Once additional emergency responders arrived, an emergency medical responder and a firefighter joined the deputies in the pond with tools, including a pike pole and a Halligan bar, a multipurpose tool used by firefighters, to force an entry. They managed to break a side window and extract Chao, according to the report.
Chao was removed from the vehicle at about 12:56 a.m., according to Benjamin Oakley, the emergency medical services chief for Blanco County. EMS responders delivered "advanced life support" for 43 minutes to try to resuscitate her. She was pronounced dead.
Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Randy Brodbeck, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment in the weeks after the incident, requested Chao's blood be drawn so a toxicology screening could be performed, according to the report. He did not order an autopsy.
Surveillance video reviewed by a sheriff's office investigator showed the Tesla, driven by Chao, "lurch" forward and then reverse over the top of a limestone block wall, entering the pond at about 11:38 p.m., according to the report.
Investigators with the FBI and the Texas Rangers, the investigative arm of the Department of Public Safety, reviewed the evidence collected by sheriff's deputies on Feb. 15, four days after the incident. After inspecting evidence obtained by sheriff's deputies, the federal and state investigators "felt this incident was nothing more than an unfortunate accident," according to the report.
In the days and weeks after Chao's death, authorities with the Blanco County sheriff's office repeatedly declined to provide information about the incident.
The slow trickle of information in the weeks after Chao's death, already under a national spotlight given her status and connections, gave rise to conspiracy theories online.
Chao's father addressed the incident in a statement provided to the Statesman through a spokesperson for the family.
“Angela’s passing was a terrible tragedy, and words cannot describe the family's profound grief. The family is grateful for the friends and first responders who tried so hard to save her," Dr. James S.C. Chao said.
Chao was married to Jim Breyer, a billionaire venture capitalist and chief executive of Austin-based Breyer Capital. The 900-acre ranch in Blanco County is owned by a trust with the same Chicago address as a Breyer-owned investment and public equity firm, public records show.
“I am heartbroken by the terrible tragedy," Breyer said in a written statement Wednesday. "I am so appreciative for the remarkable efforts of the many first responders in Blanco County who did everything possible to save my wonderful wife’s life.”
On Feb. 28, McConnell said during a speech on the US Senate floor that the death of his sister-in-law informed his decision to step down as minority leader.
"As some of you may know, this has been a particularly difficult time for my family. We tragically lost Elaine's younger sister, Angela, just a few weeks ago," McConnell said during the opening remarks of his announcement. "When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there's a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process."