Austin, Texas — Angela Chao, the shipping industry CEO and sister-in-law of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, has died in a car crash, her family says.
Chao, 50, died Sunday in Texas, according to a family statement that provided no additional details about what happened. The Blanco County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Thursday that it was investigating an incident on private property involving Chao, but would not provide additional information.
Chao was the chairman and CEO of her family’s shipping company, the Foremost Group, and the president of her father’s philanthropic organization, the Foremost Foundation. She lived in Austin, about 50 miles east of Blanco County.
Chao was the youngest of six sisters born 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 Secretary of Transportation under President Donald Trump and Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush.
“Angela’s name in Chinese sounds like the characters for peace and prosperity,” her father, James SC 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 appointed chairman of Foremost Group after her death. Michael Lee, a former president, was appointed president.
Chao is survived by her husband, father and four sisters.