78-year-old Mary Lau now faces both criminal charges and a civil lawsuit in the deaths of a family of four after a vehicle crashed into a bus shelter in San Francisco.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Tuesday that prosecutors had filed felony manslaughter charges against Lau who they say struck a family of four with her SUV, SF Bay reported.
The decision comes three-and one-half months after the March 18th tragedy. The charges allege “gross negligence” by the defendant.
Her attorney, Sam Geller, said his client appreciates that the DA did not rush its decision and conducted a thorough investigation.
“This tragedy is something that Ms. Lau continues to mourn while she learns to live with this unspeakable reality,” Geller said in a statement released to FOX2. “She extends her condolences to the entire family, friends and community of the Oliveira-Pinto family.”
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The accident ended the lives of 1-year-old son Joaquim Ramos Pinto de Oliveira, his infant brother Cauê Ramos Pinto de Oliveira and their parents Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, 38, and her husband Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, 40.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports the grandparents of the children have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lau. They are seeking unspecified damages for the loss of the family’s “love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, affection, society and moral support.”
Lau’s attorney says he’s reviewing the evidence to determine his defense strategy.
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