Mary Fong Lau, 78, is arrested in connection to San Francisco bus cease crash that killed couple and toddler ready on bus to go to the zoo

The motive force who ran her SUV right into a San Francisco bus cease and killed a pair and their toddler on their technique to the zoo has been arrested. 

Mary Fong Lau, 78, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, driving the improper means, driving at an unsafe velocity and reckless driving. 

On Saturday, three members of the family, Diego, 40, Matilde, 38, and their one-year-old baby died after Lau rammed her Mercedes SUV into the West Portal Muni bus cease. Buddies recognized the victims, however declined to disclose their final names. 

The couple’s different baby, an toddler, was with them on the time of the deadly crash because the 4 of them waited to board the bus and head to the zoo. The infant is in crucial situation following the horror crash. 

‘A variety of issues I find out about love, I realized from them. They had been an incredible couple. They’d no points with something. It was love, love, love. They took care of the youngsters and had been going to the zoo for a pleasant day on the park,’ Rogerio Falerio, a detailed good friend of the household, mentioned. 

Some witnesses mentioned Lau suffered a medical incident earlier than the crash. Different mentioned she acquired out of the automobile yelling ‘What have I executed?’ Police haven’t launched particulars on what led to the horror crash. 

Lau was initially taken to the hospital for accidents and it stays unclear what triggered her automobile to hop the curb, crash into a fireplace hydrant, pole and aspect of the native library. 

Matilde was taken to the hospital after the crash, whereas her husband and baby died on the scene. She died on Sunday within the hospital. 

Different folks ready for the bus to reach had been additionally injured from the crash and acquired medical consideration.  

Buddies of the household advised CBS Information the surviving baby is about two-months-old and suffered life-threatening accidents. 

They lived within the Mission District, a neighborhood within the Bay Space, and deliberate to spend a day on the zoo collectively for Diego and Matilde’s marriage ceremony anniversary, buddies mentioned. 

Falerio mentioned that Diego was from Brazil and his spouse was from Portugal. 

The crash website has since been lined with stuffed animals, flowers, candles, and a stroller with a heart-shaped cutout that reads: : ‘Remembering the valuable lives misplaced on March 16, 2024.’

Advocates from Stroll San Francisco added three pairs of footwear in honor of the mom, father and baby who had been tragically misplaced. 

Witnesses mentioned that the toddler went flying within the air from the affect of the crash. 

One other witness, Nikki Mashburn, advised The San Francisco Chronicle that she heard the crash and that’s seemed like ‘an explosion.’ She mentioned that the victims suffered head accidents. 

‘When the paramedics confirmed up, you possibly can inform … they didn’t know what to do first,’ Mashburn mentioned. 

‘The stroller was clearly destroyed. Yeah, so he was nonetheless strapped in there,’ Johanna Dimayuga, a resident within the space advised CBS Information.   

Gabriel Cinquepalm, one other witness, mentioned that he noticed Lau after the crash as she acquired out of her car with a glance as if to say: ‘What have I executed?’ and that she was screaming on the sky. 

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Company mentioned Saturday it was investigating the reason for the crash in collaboration with the San Francisco Police Division.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed mentioned on X, previously Twitter, that she had visited the scene of the collision on Saturday. She referred to as it ‘heartbreaking.’

Stroll San Francisco has deliberate a memorial for the household at 5pm on Monday on the crash website. 

‘We’re heartbroken and heartsick and horrified,’ Jodie Medeiros, the manager director of the advocacy group mentioned.  

‘This is among the worst pedestrian tragedies to ever happen on San Francisco streets. It’s nearly past comprehension.’ 

Following the tragedy, the group and locals have voiced their considerations in regards to the intersection of Ulloa Road and West Portal Avenue the place the bus cease is positioned. 

The group famous that across the intersection, there are a number of locations the place households and youngsters frequent, like a library, colleges and practice stations. 

‘It is time to essentially rethink areas like the place this crash occurred, the place 1000’s of individuals stroll and cross and wait daily,’ Medeiros mentioned. 

This was the second baby killed within the metropolis in lower than a 12 months, as lethal crashes like these have surged and left residents uneasy.