Infant dies days after horrific crash at San Francisco West Portal bus stop
The infant critically injured in last weekend's tragic crash in San Francisco West Portal neighborhood has died, raising the death toll in the accident to four, police said.
SFPD chief Bill Scott mentioned the infant's death during Wednesday evening's San Francisco Police Commission meeting, saying that two of the three people hospitalized in the crash were now dead. Police later confirmed the death in a statement.
The driver in the crash, identified as 78-year-old Mary Fong Lau, was the only person involved in the collision who did not have life-threatening injuries.
The crash has now claimed the lives of the entire family. The father and a toddler died at the scene. The children's mother died at the hospital on Sunday.
They were identified as 40-year-old Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, 38-year-old Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, and 1-year-old Joaquin Ramos Pinto de Oliveira. The infant boy has not been identified.
Friends of the family said the family was on an outing to celebrate their wedding anniversary when the crash happened. The family of four was at the bus stop at Ulloa Street and Lenox Way when a Mercedes SUV struck the bus shelter around noon Saturday.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested and booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving, reckless driving with bodily injury, driving the wrong way on a divided road and driving at an unsafe speed.
Witnesses said the driver was going between 50 and 70 miles per hour in the wrong direction on Ulloa Street. They said there were no signs of braking and no skid marks on the road.
Lau's attorney has said she remains at the hospital, but her injuries and condition remain unknown. Lau and her family released the following statement through her attorney on Tuesday:
"Ms. Lau and her family join the community in mourning the tragic loss of life that occurred in West Portal over the weekend.
We express our gratitude to the San Francisco Police Department, the San Francisco Fire Department, and all of the other first responders that responded to the scene, and to the San Francisco District Attorneys Office for undertaking a diligent and thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to this tragic accident. Ms. Lau has been fully cooperating with investigators and will continue to do so.
While it's understandable to seek more information regarding the causes of this devastating accident, Ms. Lau and her family respectfully request privacy during this difficult time as investigators continue to gather relevant information."
An investigation into the cause of the crash remains underway, and the San Francisco District Attorney's Office has yet to file charges.