An 80-year-old Northern California woman who is accused of killing a family of four nearly two years ago while speeding the wrong way down a street in San Francisco is likely to avoid any jail time, according to multiple media reports.
The deadly March 16, 2024, crash, according to KTLA’s sister station KRON, happened as a Mary Fong Lau was reportedly traveling 70 miles per hour into oncoming traffic on Ulloa Street when she drove onto her Mercedes SUV onto the sidewalk, struck a building and crashed into the family at a Muni Metro Portal Station.
Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, 40, his wife Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, 38, and their 1-year-old son Joaquin Ramos Pinto de Oliveira died the same day. The couple’s 2-month-old died after four days in an intensive care unit.
The family had been waiting at the Metro stop for a bus to take them to the San Francisco Zoo.
In the aftermath of the tragic crash, Lau transferred millions of dollars worth of real estate properties she owned into a new limited liability company and sold off other properties to third parties, including her son-in-law.
Relatives of the slain family claim Lau made the moves to avoid potential financial penalties from a civil suit, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
On Feb. 13, Lau changed her plea from not guilty to no contest, prompting San Francisco Superior Court Judge Bruce Chan to indicate he would not sentence her to any prison time, despite describing the incident as an incomprehensible loss of life.
Mary Fong Lau, left, stands with friends in the hallway ahead of a hearing at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco, California Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. Lau is a San Francisco resident facing felony vehicular manslaughter charges in an accident that killed a family of four in March 2024. (Photo by Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Pleading no contest is not an admission of guilt. Instead, a defendant who pleads no contest waives their right to a trial, allowing the judge to sentence them as if they were guilty.
Judge Chan, according to The Chronicle, said that a jail sentence for the 80-year-old would likely end with her dying in state prison and that considering her lack of any criminal record and the remorse she showed for the incident warranted a lesser sentence.
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“Mrs. Lau is going to spend the rest of her days living with the knowledge of the harm she has caused to others,” Chan said, saying her sentence at the next hearing would like be probation of two to three years during which time the 80-year-old would not be allowed to drive.
The assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case objected to Lau’s no-contest plea, as well as objecting to the judge saying it was unlikely that he would sentence her to home detention or any community service requirements.
The adult victims’ parents filed a civil suit against Lau in July 2024, while another was filed against her by relatives in May 2025.
Denise Oliveira, Diego’s sister, who was present at the hearing, also addressed Judge Chan.
“It feels like we have no rights,” she said. I feel deeply disrespected by this process. It doesn’t feel like justice.”
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