Identities of family killed in horrific San Francisco West Portal bus stop crash confirmed by medical examiner

Written by Da Lin, Dave Pehling and KPIX staff

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX-TV)- UPDATE ON MARCH 21, 2024 AT 11:41 A.M.- San Francisco officials on Tuesday confirmed the identity of the family members killed in Saturday's violent crash in the West Portal neighborhood.

The collision happened at around 12:13 p.m. Saturday near the West Portal Muni Metro station. Four people were standing at the bus stop at Ulloa Street and Lenox Way, outside the West Portal Branch Library, when an eastbound Mercedes SUV struck the buss shelter, authorities said after the terrible crash.

Friends of the victims had previously identified the victims as a family of four on an outing to celebrate the parents' wedding anniversary. 

The San Francisco office of the Chief Medical Examiner sent out a release Tuesday morning that identified the victims killed in the crash as the father, 40-year-old Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, 38-year-old mother Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, and their toddler son, one-year-old Joaquin Ramos Pinto de Oliveira. All three are San Francisco residents.

Cardoso de Oliveira and his son Joaquin were pronounced dead at the scene. Moncada Ramos Pinto died from her injuries on Sunday, authorities announced. Only the couple's infant, a baby boy, survived the crash as of Tuesday.

Sadly, CBS News Bay Area learned on Wednesday that the infant had also died, raising the death toll in the terrible accident to four.

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.  

Monday morning, San Francisco police announced the arrest of the elderly driver involved in the crash. Jail records indicate the suspect driver, identified as 78-year-old Mary Fong Lau, was booked Sunday afternoon on charges of vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving, reckless driving with bodily injury, driving the wrong way on a divided road, and driving at an unsafe speed.  

Although police announced her arrest, Lau's attorney told KPIX she is still at the hospital being treated for her injuries and has been hospitalized since Saturday. Her condition and the severity of her injuries remain unknown.

On Tuesday, Lau and her family released the following statement through her attorney:

"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."

Lau Family statement

Friends said Diego was originally from Brazil and his family members were flying to San Francisco. They also said Matilde was originally from Portugal and her family is flying to the Bay Area as well.  

Since the deadly crash, a growing memorial has appeared at the Ulloa Street bus stop. On Monday night, a large group of people gathered at the crash site, some of them in tears, to remember the young family. 

"It's just so incredibly sad," said resident Larry Nelson. "I mean all they were doing was going to the zoo. You know, and then the little baby is still in the hospital. It's just heartbreaking." 

Elderly driver arrested in horrific San Francisco bus stop crash that killed couple, child

The elderly driver of an SUV involved in a horrific crash at a San Francisco bus stop was arrested for vehicular manslaughter and other charges in the deaths of a couple and their toddler over the weekend, police sources told KPIX on Monday.

Jail records indicate the suspect driver, identified as 78-year-old Mary Fong Lau, was booked Sunday afternoon on charges of vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving, reckless driving with bodily injury, driving the wrong way on a divided road, and driving at an unsafe speed.  

Friends of the victims of Saturday's crash near West Portal station identified them as a family of four on an outing to celebrate the parents' wedding anniversary. Police announced on Sunday a third victim in the crash, the mother, died from her injuries. Only her infant, a baby boy, survived with critical injuries. 

Following the crash, the driver was also taken to the hospital in stable condition. Some witnesses told police they believed she suffered from some kind of medical condition and crashed into the bus shelter. Police have not confirmed that.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement her office has been in touch with the victims' family who have asked for privacy, and that police have probable cause to arrest Lau.

"While I understand that there is an immediate desire to know what ultimately will happen in this case, I ask for patience from the public as investigators continue to gather more information so that my office can make appropriate charging decisions," said Jenkins. "The extent and nature of any criminal liability depends on many factors. For example, toxicology results alone can take more than 30 days to obtain and, vehicle operating systems will need to be carefully analyzed by experts and assessed to determine whether mechanical issues may have played a role in this incident."

The crash happened Saturday afternoon near the West Portal Muni station on Ulloa Street. Authorities said a car plowed into a bus stop, hitting four people waiting for the bus.

Friends of the victims declined an on-camera interview but shared some details of the victims. They said the father was named Diego, 40, and the mother was named Matilde, 38. They did not want to provide the victims' last names. Their toddler, a boy about one and a half years old, died at the scene. 

The infant is about two months old. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital and police said the child suffers from life-threatening injuries.

Friends said the family lived in the Mission District. They said Saturday was Diego and Matilde's wedding anniversary and they were taking the bus to celebrate the anniversary with the boys at the San Francisco Zoo.

"How can a car race so fast and end up taking out an entire bus stop?" asked neighbor Johanna Dimayuga.

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.

"It's just very heartbreaking. It's very difficult for us to unsee what we saw here yesterday," said Dimayuga. "I'm still shaking just thinking about it."

Dimayuga was among the many that came to pay her respects. She lives across the street from the bus stop and ran out when she heard the crash on Saturday.

"I am just unable to move forward. I need to have closure with what I saw," said Dimayuga. "I can't really unsee the carnage that happened here yesterday."

Witnesses, neighbors, and well-wishers dropped off flowers, stuffed animals, and toys at the bus stop. Street safety advocates left a white stroller and three pairs of shoes at the make-shift memorial, one for each victim that died in the crash.

They also left flowers at a second smaller memorial about 60 feet from the bus stop. That was where the toddler landed and died. Witnesses said the impact of the crash sent the toddler, who was in a stroller, into the air.

"The stroller was clearly destroyed. Yeah, so he was still strapped in there," said Dimayuga.

The father landed about 80 feet away from the point of impact and died. Paramedics rushed the mom and the baby to the hospital. Authorities said on Sunday the mom died from her injuries.

"You just want to hug your kids closer and just really be mindful of every single moment you have with each other," said neighbor Michelle McCauley who brought her husband and kids to the memorial.

Friends said Diego was originally from Brazil and his family is flying to San Francisco. They said Matilde was originally from Portugal and her family is flying to the Bay Area as well.

Street safety advocates will hold a vigil at the site of the crash on Monday at 5 p.m.

The San Francisco Police Department said they do not believe that traffic engineering was a factor in this case.

2 killed, including child, 3 injured in San Francisco West Portal crash Saturday

Two people were killed, including a child, and three were injured when a car struck a bus shelter near the West Portal Muni station Saturday afternoon, San Francisco firefighters said.

Four people were in the bus stop at Ulloa Street and Lenox Way, outside the West Portal Branch Library, when an eastbound Mercedes SUV struck the shelter about 12:13 p.m.

Two people in the shelter were pronounced dead at the scene. The other two in the shelter and the vehicle's driver were taken to a hospital, he said.

"I've just visited the scene and it is heartbreaking," San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a post at 3:54 p.m. on X, formerly Twitter. "We will share more information when we can but now our focus is on the victims and their families."

Walk San Francisco, a pedestrian advocacy nonprofit, identified the dead as a man and a toddler and said the other two in the shelter were a woman and a baby, both critically injured.

"This is one of the worst pedestrian tragedies to ever occur on San Francisco streets," Jodie Medeiros, executive director of the organization, said in a statement.

Walk San Francisco will hold a vigil for the victims at the crash site at 5 p.m. Monday, she said.

West Portal Avenue is a major commercial corridor with significant foot traffic and the K and M Muni rail lines running on the surface, according to Walk San Francisco.

Serena Gomez was working at a hair salon near the scene when she heard a commotion and went outside to investigate.

"People were trying to block something," she said.  "They were trying to cover what looked like a body.  And so we ran over to see and there were bodies everywhere."

The SUV plowed into a utility pole but it appears that the car first hit a group of pedestrians waiting at the bus stop.

"Some witnesses were saying she was flying so fast, that she was going so fast,"  Gomez said.  "And that there was a stroller, a baby in a stroller.  It was not anything you would want to see."

S.F. Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson described the grim result.

"Unfortunately, two were just really, really critically injured and there was no hope for them," she said.  "But we quickly transported the three others to the hospital."

Mayor London Breed arrived on scene and said those who witnessed the accident, including one Muni bus driver, were extremely shaken.

"You can imagine, children are involved here," she said. "And how traumatic that is for a lot of people who, especially, were here and may have witnessed this situation occur."

The city's Vision Zero program is designed to eliminate roadway conditions that could contribute to pedestrian deaths but there are some accidents that can't be foreseen and officials were warning the public not to jump to any conclusions on this one.

"We don't know if the driver had a medical emergency. That is all under investigation," said Fire Chief Nicholson. "So, this may have nothing to do with Vision Zero. Again, it's under investigation."

Mayor Breed said that if it is determined something about the street design contributed to the accident, there could be changes coming. 

"It's time to fundamentally rethink areas like where this crash occurred, where thousands of people walk and cross and wait every day," Medeiros said.

The victims of Saturday's crash were the city's fifth and sixth pedestrian deaths this year, Walk San Francisco said.

That figure is more than double what it was at the same time last year, according to pedestrian advocates. In 2023, 17 people were killed while walking in San Francisco, the organization said.

The West Portal transit station was closed while police investigated, Muni said on its website.

The San Francisco Police Department's Traffic Unit is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at (415) 575-4444 or text TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.