Angela Chao, a shipping industry CEO and sister-in-law to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, has died in a car accident, her family says.
Chao, 50, died Sunday in Texas, according to a family statement that did not provide any additional details about what happened. The Blanco County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday confirmed that it was investigating an incident on private property that involved Chao, but it would not provide any additional information.
Chao was the chair and CEO of her family’s shipping business, the Foremost Group, and the president of her father’s philanthropic organization, the Foremost Foundation. She lived in Austin, which is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Blanco County.
Chao was the youngest of six sisters to immigrant parents who moved to the U.S. From China in the late 1950s. Her eldest sibling, Elaine Chao, is married to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and served as transportation secretary under President Donald Trump and labor secretary under President George W. Bush.
“Angela’s name in Chinese sounds like the characters for peace and prosperity,” her father, James S.C. Chao, said in the family statement. “Her absence leaves a void not only in our hearts, but in the Asian-American community.”
Her father was named chairman of Foremost Group following her death. Michael Lee, a former president, was named president.
Chao is survived by her husband, father and four sisters.