Investigators say Angela Chao's blood alcohol level was three times the limit when she died in car accident

Investigators have revealed that Angela Chao was heavily intoxicated when she perished in a car accident in Texas in February.

Chao was a shipping industry CEO and the sister to Elaine Chao, the wife of Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

The 50-year-old was found dead after her car was submerged in a a pond on a private ranch in Johnson City, 40 miles away from Austin. EMS responders tried to resuscitate the woman for 43 minutes before they said that she had “succumbed from being under the water.”

The Blanco County Sheriff’s Office initially called the incident “an unfortunate accident” and later referred to it as “not a typical accident.”

On Wednesday, a report from the Blanco County Sheriff’s Office said investigators concluded that Chao’s death was an “unfortunate accident.” They said her blood alcohol content was nearly three times the state’s legal limit.

Witnesses on the night of her death said that Chao had been at a dinner party and she later frantically called her friends to tell them she was trapped in the car. They tried to swim out to help her, but it was too late.

Chao’s relation to McConnell led some online to push conspiracy theories that involved his sister-in-law being murdered. Others noted that some Tesla users have complained that their design leads to accidental shifting into reverse when the driver intends to drive forward.

Car safety experts told Inside Edition that anyone who drives into a body of water should open their windows to try to escape immediately instead of reaching for their phone, which wastes precious seconds.

McConnell said in February that he was planning to step down as Senate minority leader after experiencing several health scares that led many to question his ability to fulfill the duties of the office. He referred to his sister-in-law’s untimely death in his announcement.

“As some of you may know, this has been a particularly difficult time for my family,” McConnell said on floor of the Senate.

“We tragically lost Elaine’s younger sister, Angela, just a few weeks ago. When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there’s a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process,” he continued. “Perhaps it is God’s way of reminding you of your own life’s journey to reprioritize the impact of the world that we will all inevitably leave behind.”