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2w ago

West Portal Driver Who Killed Family Gets Probation as Civil Suits Advance

California rules could allow her to drive again in three years.

Photographs of Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, and their two children, Joaquim Ramos Pinto de Oliveira and Caue Ramos Pinto de Oliveira hang at the West Portal bus stop in San Francisco on March 20, 2026. A vigil was held to remember the family on March 19, the day before Mary Fong Lau’s plea deal.
Photographs of Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, and their two children, Joaquim Ramos Pinto de Oliveira and Caue Ramos Pinto de Oliveira hang at the West Portal bus stop in San Francisco on March 20, 2026.
Mary Fong Lau was sentenced to probation and temporarily lost her driving privileges for a crash that killed a family of four in San Francisco.
Mary Fong Lau could ask to have her drivers license reinstated after three years.

Overview

  • Mary Fong Lau, 80, was sentenced Friday, March 20, to probation and 200 hours of community service with credit for six days already served and no further jail time.
  • Lau will now face sworn questioning in two civil cases, including a wrongful-death suit and a claim that she shifted assets after the crash, and she cannot invoke the Fifth Amendment because the criminal case is over.
  • Investigators and witnesses say she drove about 70 mph in a 25 mph zone in March 2024, lost control near the West Portal Muni stop, and struck the parents and their two young children as they headed to the zoo.
  • District Attorney Brooke Jenkins asked the court to reconsider the sentence as thousands signed petitions, while opinion coverage split between sharp criticism of leniency and deeper looks at what the law allows.
  • Under California law, courts rarely revoke licenses for life unless a driver used a car as a weapon, so Lau could seek a license again after three years as the DMV decides whether to test or deny her.