[Global Times Special Correspondent Liu Haoran Global Times Special Correspondent in the United States Feng Yaren] During the 2024 Lunar New Year, Chinese-American female entrepreneur Angie Zhao (pictured) accidentally drowned and passed away in her family ranch, which attracted great attention from all walks of life. According to the recent report of the US "Wall Street Journal", the direct cause of Zhao Anji's death was that he "mistakenly put the reverse gear" in his car and fell into a pond. However, American public opinion has doubts about this investigation conclusion, and various conspiracy theories are still circulating. .
The Spring Festival tragedy, the rescue had twists and turns
The Wall Street Journal recently released an investigative report saying that the tragedy occurred on February 11 this year. On that day, Anji Zhao summoned seven female friends from Harvard Business School to come as guests to celebrate the holiday together. The gathering place was At her private ranch in Blanco County, Texas, about 19 kilometers away from Austin, the capital of Texas.
Zhao Anji’s information picture
After the party, in order to let his 3-year-old son wake up early in the morning, Zhao Anji drove back to the main house in the ranch to rest at about 23:30. The whole journey took about 4 minutes. . According to friends, they received a call from Zhao Anji a few minutes after they parted, in which she anxiously expressed that she had fallen into a pond. The Wall Street Journal stated that Anji Zhao was driving a Tesla X-type off-road vehicle. When turning, he accidentally shifted the forward gear into reverse gear and fell directly into the pond.
Friends quickly called 911 for help, but due to the remote location of the ranch and the rugged roads, the rescuers had to abandon their cars and walk, arriving at the scene 24 minutes after receiving the call. Zhao Anji's car was equipped with tempered glass. Both the windows and the sunroof were difficult to break in the water. The vehicle was not salvaged until about 1 a.m., and by this time Zhao Anji had already lost consciousness in the car.
After the incident, Blanco County police launched a criminal investigation into the case and concluded after the preliminary investigation that it was just an "unfortunate accident."
There are different opinions, Tesla refused to comment
The public does not agree with the conclusion of the police investigation. Some people think that the Tesla driven by Zhao Anji may have been "hacked." Texas hedge fund manager Kyle Bass hinted on the social platform Bass claimed that local law enforcement did not conduct an autopsy after the incident, and the evidence at the scene was not properly preserved. He said that the most questionable thing is that Blanco County police directly refused the assistance of the state police department during the preliminary investigation stage, which is called "rare." Some conspiracy theorists even suggested that she might have been "murdered."
In addition, some people are targeting Tesla. Many American netizens believe: "When Musk designed an electric car, he did not consider that the car would automatically send an alarm message after it fell into the water, which is very unreasonable."
In the face of inquiries from the media and the public, a Tesla spokesperson said: " declined to comment, citing non-working hours. However, according to the "Wall Street Journal", Zhao Anji had "mistakenly shift into reverse gear" before.
The whole family mourned, and the brother-in-law suddenly resigned.
The 50-year-old Anji Zhao is originally from Jiading, Shanghai. She is the youngest daughter of Zhao Xicheng, an American Chinese entrepreneur and founder of Foremost Group, and the sister of former US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao. Angie Zhao was born in New York, USA. She was familiar with the shipping business under the guidance of her father since she was a child. She received her undergraduate diploma and MBA from Harvard University. She joined the family business in 1996 and took over her father's mantle to become the group CEO in 2018. She was praised by many media as the new generation of "Chinese female shipping king".
Anji Zhao had two marriages. Her first husband, Bruce Wasserstein, was a well-known American investment banker. Their marriage lasted only a few months before her husband unfortunately passed away. In 2012, she married Jim Breyer, an American venture capitalist and early investor in Facebook.
As the sister of former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Angie Chao’s sudden death caused great grief to her family. Elaine Chao's husband, McConnell, suddenly announced his resignation as Senate party leader last month, saying that one of the direct reasons for this major decision was that the tragedy had left the family "facing an extraordinarily difficult period."
As of now, there is no conclusive evidence for the various inferences surrounding Zhao Anji's death, but the accident itself has once again sounded the alarm for driving safety. It is understood that in order to ensure driving safety, major car companies encourage the installation of reinforced glass windows for vehicles, but this material becomes a deadly "cage" underwater. According to the current system in the United States, there is no regulation requiring car companies to protect consumers' "underwater safety."
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