Driver in San Francisco bus crash that killed 4 pleads not guilty – NBC Bay Area

A 79-year-old woman pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with a car crash that killed a family of four at a bus stop in San Francisco’s West Portal neighborhood in March.

Mary Fong Lau remains free pending trial. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Kenneth Wine banned her from driving but refrained from placing her under house arrest as prosecutors had requested. Lau has not driven since the accident, her defense attorney Sam Geller told the court.

With his hand on her back, Geller urged Lau to answer yes and no questions louder during her arraignment. Cantonese is Lao’s native language, but no interpreter was available during the arraignment. Lao waived that right.

More than a dozen of Lau’s supporters appeared in court Friday at the San Francisco Hall of Justice, several of them embracing the small woman in a group hug as she left the courtroom.

Shortly after noon on March 16, Diego Cardoso de Oliveira and Matilde Ramos Pinto, their two-year-old son Joaquin and baby Caue Ramos Pinto de Oliveira were killed in an accident near Ulloa Street and Lenox Way. According to prosecutors and Geller, Lau was speeding in her 2014 Mercedes-Benz SUV at the time of the accident.

After the arraignment, Geller said the speeding was not common for Lau, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 50 years. He explained it was an isolated incident when Lau was delivering lunch to her brother “when her car just took off.”

Geller added that he had provided authorities with information about a similar sudden acceleration incident in New Jersey involving an SUV of the same make, model and year. He did not provide any evidence to support that claim as of press time.

In a press conference on Tuesday, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the vehicle’s mechanical failure was not a factor in the accident.

“It just doesn’t make sense that this 79-year-old lady would speed through West Portal, it just doesn’t add up,” Geller said.

He went on to say that the collision had traumatized Lau. Geller had given her a ride in his car earlier that week and she was visibly afraid to sit in his passenger seat, he said.

Geller stressed that Lau had led a “normal life” and had not received any tickets for speeding, parking or other accidents in the past.

Speaking about the fatal collision, Geller said it was an unspeakable tragedy but an accident. He said community pressure escalated the accident into a criminal matter, adding that it was a natural reaction and that he respected the grief of the loved ones.

“No matter what happens behind those doors,” Geller said in the courtroom hallway, “it’s not going to bring anyone back.”

The judge allowed the victims’ families, who are from out of state, to attend future court hearings via video conference and set October 10 as the preliminary hearing date.

Outside the courtroom, Geller said they needed that time to conduct their own investigation and review the evidence prosecutors have gathered. He estimates the documents and video footage total over a terabyte.