Texas police release Angela Chao death investigation report

Texas authorities on Wednesday released the findings of their investigation of the drowning death in February of Foremost Group CEO Angela Chao after she accidentally drove her car into a pond at a ranch she owned with her husband, venture capitalist Jim Breyer.

The report details the frantic unsuccessful effort to get Chao out of the Tesla she was stuck in, and a phone call she made to a friend as water entered her vehicle.

“In a calm voice, Chao informs [Amber Landeau-Kienan] she is not able to get out of the vehicle,” the report recounted. “Chao told Keinan the water was rising and she was going to die, and said, ‘I love you’ to Keinan prior to the vehicle going under water.”

Chao, 50, was the sister-in-law of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is married to her sister, former Cabinet secretary Elaine Chao.

Angela Chao had driven into the pond late Feb. 10 on the ranch in Johnson City after a gathering with friends who had attended Harvard Business School with her. She was headed back to the main house on the ranch when the Tesla went into the water, according to the police report.

Angela Chao became CEO of Foremost Group in 2018. The company was founded by her father James Chao in 1964.

Chao had held board positions on the American Bureau of Shipping Council, Harvard Business School’s Board of Dean’s Advisors and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Her first husband, the investment banker Bruce Wasserstein, died months after they married in 2009.

Breyer is part owner of the National Basketball Association’s Boston Celtics, He previously served on the boards of Facebook, Walmart, Marvel Entertainment, News Corp. and Dell.

McConnell announced in late February that he would step down as the Republican Senate leader at the end of the year.

McConnell cited Angela Chao’s death in his statement on the Senate floor revealing his plan to give up the leadership position.

“This has been a particularly difficult time for my family,” McConnell said.

“We tragically lost Elaine’s younger sister Angela, just a few weeks ago,” he said. “When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there’s a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process.”

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