This week, the relatives of the West Portal family of four who were killed when an 80-year-old woman allegedly going 70mph crashed into their bus stop launched a petition demanding a San Francisco judge find the defendant guilty.
They want Judge Bruce Chan to impose “meaningful consequences proportionate to the gravity of this crime” including taking away the woman’s drivers license, mandating community service, and other “restrictions” to “protect the community.”
The petition, posted to the online platform Action Network on Tuesday, collected over 4,000 signatures within 48 hours. By Friday, it had over 8,000 signatures, and the goal was pushed to 10,000.
This came as no surprise to the families’ civil attorney, James Quadra. There was public outcry after Chan indicated that the defendant, Mary Fong Lau, was unlikely to face prison time. Chan noted Lau’s age, lack of criminal history, and guilt she will bear for the rest of her life.
Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, 40, Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, 38, their one-year-old son Joaquim, and their three-month-old son Cauê were traveling to the San Francisco Zoo when Lau drove into the bus stop they were waiting at 70 mph in a residential zone, prosecutors alleged. Lau’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lau initially pleaded not guilty to four counts of vehicular manslaughter. On Feb. 13, she changed her plea to “no contest,” a plea that waives her right to a trial and allows the court to sentence her without admitting guilt.
Chan accepted her no contest plea over the objection of deputy district attorney Samantha Persaud, Quadra said. The no contest plea will force the victims’ families to prove negligence in their civil wrongful death lawsuit. Family members have also alleged that Lau attempted to hide her assets.
Now, they want Chan to reverse his decision.
Photos of the victims on their website, fourlives.org.
“We believe the Court should not have accepted a no contest plea in a case involving the loss of four lives — including two babies,” the petition said.
The district attorney’s office believes that Chan has the authority to withdraw approval of Lau’s no contest plea, Quadra said. But former San Francisco Superior Court judges said it would be “highly unusual and legally problematic” for Chan to change his decision without any new information in the case. The DA’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Judges have discretion during sentencing and are required to consider many factors, said retired judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell: “We take an oath to uphold the laws, not to uphold what people who are upset about us want us to do.”
Victims also have every right to express their outrage, she said. But, she added, generally “if a judge decides to change their opinion because of public pressure, that is wrong.”
The victims’ surviving family members, who live in Florida, Brazil, and Portugal, have also shared letters to the court, photos, and videos of the family on a website they launched alongside the petition. Another goal of the petition is to get Chan to consider their impact statements before issuing Lau’s final sentence on March 20.
In the letters, the couple are remembered as hard-working, joyful parents. A quote from Moncada Ramos Pinto’s diary before her death reads: “I am enjoying where I am in life but want to be inspired to progress and develop and really make the best of this short time we have on earth … Love is life.”