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Justice? Facing 60 years, San Francisco driver, 80, was handed two years of probation and 200 hours of community service – no prison time – after slamming Mercedes into young family, killing parents and two young sons

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e91cffdc3fc3aca944db2b5d68b9d7e2" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;220505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Elderly San Francisco Mercedes driver&comma; 80&comma; gets no prison time for slamming into young family of four and killing them <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-42263cc45b494dc3d42c97bda017314d" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;220505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Mary Fong Lau&comma; is now she&&num;8217&semi;s trying to shift her assets to avoid civil payouts <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-176ef7dcc1ed6161fdd708301b7a3cd6" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;220505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Lau&comma; 80&comma; pled no contest to 4 counts of manslaughter after crushing Diego Cardoso de Oliveira&comma; his wife Matilde Ramos Pinto&comma; and their children Joaquim and Cauê&comma; two years ago <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8814ee30df16280a86bad2fb04273160" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;220505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>The family had been waiting for the bus to go to the San Francisco Zoo for their wedding anniversary <strong> in March 2024<&sol;strong><&sol;strong> <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0cbc4c648b698e7512cd7afdf3a29634" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;220505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Lau&&num;8217&semi;s Mercedes hit them at around 70mph in a residential neighborhood with a 40mph limit <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-41822d47250cdd32e4cbf06b061304c3" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;220505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong><strong>80-year-old driver who should was facing a minimum 60 years&comma; instead was handed two years of probation and 200 hours of community service <&sol;strong><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-10db56b69c698fae82b8d2e72b3cb372" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;220505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>San Francisco Superior Court <strong>Judge&comma; Bruce Chan<&sol;strong>&comma; cited Lau&&num;8217&semi;s age&comma; lack of criminal record and remorse as factors in his decision &ast;&ast;The deceased couple&&num;8217&semi;s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lau in June 2024 <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-09869a24d884563b7503c605ec11372f" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;220505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>The parents have accused Lau of transferring properties to new limited liability companies&comma; selling them to third parties&comma; possibly amounting to millions of dollars <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-96eac0d44529c5d289bd0e9c652216a3" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;220505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong> They filed a second civil suit in May 2025 to void any financial transfers she may have made in light of the civil claims <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;03&sol;Diego-Cardoso-de-Oliveira-his-wife-Matilde-Ramos-Pinto-and-their-two-children-Joaquim-and-Caue-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-495363" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size"><strong>Elderly San Francisco driver Mary Fong Lau pled no contest to crushing Apple executive Diego Cardoso de Oliveira&comma; his wife Matilde Ramos Pinto&comma; and their two children Joaquim and Cauê &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; in March 2024<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>A San Francisco woman has walked out free from a California courthouse after wiping out a young San Francisco family when she slamming her Mercedes SUV into the family of four as they waited at a bus stop in the West Portal neighborhood&comma; two years ago&period; <br>Mary Fong Lau&comma; 80&comma; was handed a sentence of six days in jail&comma; two years of probation and 200 hours of community service after the crash that killed Apple executive Diego Cardoso de Oliveira&comma; 40&comma; his wife Matilde Ramos Pinto&comma; 38&comma; and their two children Joaquim&comma; 20 months&comma; and three-month-old Cauê&comma; in March of 2024&period;<br>The jail sentence is the number of days she&&num;8217&semi;s already served&period; There will be no additional time&period;<br>San Francisco Superior Court Judge&comma; Bruce Chan&comma; cites Lau&&num;8217&semi;s age&comma; lack of criminal record and remorse had as factor in reaching his decision <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;nytimes&period;com&sol;2026&sol;03&sol;20&sol;us&sol;san-francisco-crash-sentence&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener">to spare<&sol;a> the octogenarian actual time behind bars&period; <br>Chan added that the high profile case against Lau and her poor health could make her a target of other inmates if imprisoned&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;03&sol;Mary-Fong-Lau-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-495362" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size"><strong>Looking at 60 years in prison following conviction on four counts of manslaughter&comma; Mary Fong Lau&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; 80&comma; Friday was handed two years of probation and 200 hours of community service with the judge citing her age&comma; health and lack of a criminal record<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The family of four had been waiting for the bus to go to the San Francisco Zoo for their wedding anniversary when Lau&&num;8217&semi;s Mercedes hit them at around 70mph in a residential neighborhood with a 40mph limit&period; <br>The parents of Oliveira and Pinto filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lau in June 2024&comma; followed by another civil suit in May 2025&comma; to void any financial transfers she may have made in light of the civil claims&period;<br>They have accused Lau of transferring properties to new limited liability companies and selling them to third parties&comma; possibly amounting to millions of dollars&period; <br>As part of the discovery in the the fresh suit&comma; the plaintiffs alleged that Lau transferred her stake in three properties in August 2024&comma; two months after the initial civil suit was filed&period; A day later the suit claims&comma; she transferred her stake to two newly formed Nevada limited liability companies&comma;<br>Ultimately Lau pled no contest to four felony counts of vehicular manslaughter&comma; each punishable by up to 15 years behind bars&period; <br>As part of her sentencing&comma; Lau was also banned from driving for three years&period; Her attorney Seth Morris&comma; confirmed his client <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;abc7chicago&period;com&sol;post&sol;mary-fong-lau-crash-driver-killed-family-4-west-portal-sentenced-probation-san-francisco-ca-judge&sol;18751230&sol;">does not intend to drive again<&sol;a>&period;  <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;03&sol;Mary-Fong-Laus-wrecked-Mercedes-Benz-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-495372" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size"><strong>Lau has been accused of changing her story over the fatal crash&period; Initially she claimed she accidentally hit the accelerator&period; Further on she told investigators her car malfunctioned <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;03&sol;Mary-Fong-Lau-3&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-495382" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size"><strong>She had pled no contest to four felony counts of vehicular manslaughter&comma; each punishable by up to 15 years behind bars <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>At the crash scene Lau reportedly&comma; told witnesses at the scene that <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;sfstandard&period;com&sol;2024&sol;10&sol;11&sol;west-portal-crash-driver-conflicting-statements-court-records&sol;">she was trying to park <&sol;a>when she accidentally hit the accelerator&period;<br>Interviewed later by police while receiving at the hospital&comma; she claimed her car malfunctioned before she plowed into the bus shelter where the family of four was standing&period; <br>However&comma; investigators concluded her SUV had no issues that could have led to the crash of the vehicle which cops said was traveling at an estimated 66 to 75 mph in a 40 mile zone&period;<br>Diego and Joaquin were killed at the scene while Matilde and Cauê succumbed to injuries in hospital&period; <br>Other people waiting for the bus to arrive were also injured in the crash and received medical attention&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;03&sol;Jaoquin-Cardoso-de-Oliveira-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-495373" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size"><strong>One-year-old Joaquin&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; was killed at the scene along with his father&comma; when Mary Fong Lau crashed into the bus shelter where his family was waiting for a bus in San Francisco&period; His brother and mom died at the hospital<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Her address at Friday&&num;8217&semi;s hearing was the first time that Lau had ever addressed the friends and family of the victims as she told them&colon; &&num;8216&semi;I want to say to your family sorry&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br>Jim Quadra&comma; an attorney representing the victim&&num;8217&semi;s family in the civil case&comma; noted that Lau&colon; &&num;8216&semi;Doesn&&num;8217&semi;t have home detention &&num;8211&semi; she doesn&&num;8217&semi;t have any restriction of her freedom&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;She just has to ask permission to maybe travel out of state&comma; it&&num;8217&semi;s minimal in the consequences&period;<br>&&num;8216&semi;They asked her for 200 hours of community service that rounds up to about five weeks&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Quadra queried&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;Five weeks of undefined community service which could mean whatever&period; We don&&num;8217&semi;t know what for &&num;8211&semi; taking four lives&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;That is what we have and that is just not fair&comma;&&num;8217&semi; said the attorney&period; &&num;8216&semi;That is not justice and doesn&&num;8217&semi;t give anything to the family to make them feel that they were heard&period;&&num;8217&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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