79-year-old Chinese woman driver faces 4 charges of felony vehicular manslaughter for the West Portal crash killing a family of 4

(SAN FRANCISCO) A 79-year-old Chinese woman driver faces four felony vehicular manslaughter charges for killing an entire family of four in a crash on March 16 at the busy West Portal neighborhood public transit hub.

The tragic crash occurred at 12:13 pm on March 16 which was a Saturday when 40-year-old Diego Cardoso de Oliveira and his wife, Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, 38, with their 1-year-old and 3-month-old sons were waiting for a bus at a bus stop going to the San Francisco zoo. All of them died in the crash. The husband was an Apple tech company engineer and the wife was a film producer.

It was a solo vehicle collision involving pedestrians, according to SFPD. Lau was driving her 2014 white Mercedes SUV traveling eastbound on Ulloa Street when she crashed into a bus stop located at the intersection of Ulloa Street and Lenox Way within the West Portal transit hub with multiple bus stops surrounding.

After an investigation of the crash for over 3 months, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott and District Attorney Brook Jenkins held a joint press conference on July 2 to announce four counts of felony vehicular manslaughter charges filed against the driver, Mary Fong Lau, who killed the entire family of Oliveira-Pinto.

Chief Scott said the arrest warrant and charges came after investigators found no evidence of mechanical failure or driver's impairment.

Lau was 78 year old when the crash occurred. Lau was arrested on July 2 at her Lakeshore residence, which is located next to the West Portal and Sunset neighborhoods, and booked on four counts of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.

D.A. Jenkins said it was a case of gross negligence and excessive speed which was a factor in the crash. "This isn't somebody going a few miles over the speed limit," Jenkins said. "This was excessive speeds and driving in a manner that was not safe and that could reasonably, and foreseeably cause death."

Lau made her initial appearance at the San Francisco Superior Court on July 5 for arraignment. She attended the court hearing with her family members and friends. She speaks Cantonese and English. During the arraignment, she answered briefly to the questions from the judge and stood next to her defense attorney Sam Geller.

Prosecutors requested Lau to be kept under house arrest. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Kenneth Wine ruled to let her stay free without driving. Lau pleaded not guilty to all charges of felony vehicular manslaughter.

After the court hearing, Geller spoke to the press outside the courtroom that the speeding was not habitual for Lau, who has lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years. Lau was delivering lunch to her brother when her car just took off, according to Geller.

Geller told the press that he provided law enforcement with information about a similar sudden acceleration in New Jersey involving the same make, model and year of SUV.

Geller said it didn't make any sense that a 79-year-old driver would be speeding through the West Portal neighborhood. Lau has had no record of traffic citations for speeding, illegal parking or accidents.

Lau's next court date was scheduled for October 10. Geller added that the defense would continue to conduct their own investigation on the crash.