Relatives of family killed in crash thank first responders
“We loved Diego, Matilde, Joaquim, and Cauê deeply and are sure the love they showed to their family and friends will serve as their legacy.” Relatives’ statement
Relatives of the San Francisco family killed in the West Portal crash released their first statement Thursday to express gratitude to the emergency crews, hospital workers and city employees who responded to the tragedy after an SUV struck their loved ones as they waited at a bus stop on their way to the zoo.
Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, 40, and Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, 38, were “warm and loving parents who had a deep love for their beautiful children and enjoyed nothing more than spending time with their two little boys,” their relatives said in a statement released by the Consulate General of Portugal that was accompanied by a photo of the family of four.
The parents and their two children, Joaquim, 2, and Cauê, 3 months, died after the Mercedes SUV plowed into the bus stop where they were waiting around noon on Saturday. The driver, Mary Fong Lau, 78, was booked on charges including vehicular manslaughter, and remained in custody until Wednesday, when she was released. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said her office is awaiting more information and has not yet charged Lau.
Cauê died Wednesday morning “despite the immense and unwavering efforts of the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit,” the relatives said.
“Little Cauê was a fighter and our hero,” they said, “His organs were donated and will serve to save the lives of other children.”
Oliveira and Joaquim died on impact following the crash, the San Francisco Police Department said. Pinto died the following day. Their infant spent four days in intensive care and was later transferred to palliative care due to the gravity of his injuries, officials said.
“He was the last surviving member of Matilde and Diego’s direct family, as both his parents and his two-year-old brother Joaquim succumbed to their injuries from the crash,” the statement said.
According to their relatives, Oliveira and Pinto were “what one would call real ‘life enhancers’ — the kind of people everyone loved to be around: happy, funny, kind, and always eager to make the best of what life had to offer them.”
“The outpouring of love and grief from all over the
world, which has greatly moved us, is a testament to this,” they added.
The families said they wished to thank the hospital employees and first responders for their work. They also thanked the couple’s employers, Apple and RSA Films, for “their immense help and support during this difficult time.”
Oliveira was a Brazilian citizen who had worked as an associate creative director at Apple for four years, according to the Brazilian Consulate of San Francisco and Clube de Criação, a business association in Brazil. Pinto had a long career in the advertising and film industry and had been an executive producer at Ridley Scott’s production company since 2022, according to a company news release from that year.
“We loved Diego, Matilde, Joaquim, and Cauê deeply and are sure the love they showed to their family and friends will serve as their legacy,” the families said.