(car splashes)

A car crashes into water quickly sinking.

(water rushing)

A recent victim is the sister-in-law

of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,

billionaire businesswoman Angela Chao,

who lost her life after backing her Tesla into a pond.

McConnell referenced the tragic accident

in his resignation announcement last week.

We tragically lost Elaine's younger sister,

Angela, just a few weeks ago.

Angela's sister is Elaine Chao,

former Secretary of Transportation

during the Trump administration.

The billionaire shipping heiress was attempting

to make a three point turn at her ranch outside

Austin, Texas when she reportedly put her Tesla

into reverse instead of drive,

sending the vehicle into a pond on her property.

Now, according to reports, Chao first called

her friends on the phone for help,

and one actually jumped into the water

in an attempt to rescue her,

but was unable to break the Tesla's windows.

Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht is an expert on car submersions.

(car splashes)

In this demonstration, you can see Giesbrecht

deliberately drive a car into a lake.

The car fills with water.

Giesbrecht makes his way to the back seat.

Big mistake he says.

(water rushing)

You need to get out of that vehicle as quick as possible.

You've got about one minute to finish everything.

We advise S.W.O.C.

Seat belts off, windows open,

out immediately, children first.

Another tip, avoid the natural instinct

of calling 911 because you'll lose critical time.

If you grab your cell phone,

basically you're gonna die.

(car engine rumbling)

In another demonstration, Giesbrecht

and his team show how to get out correctly.

They get their seat belts off, open the windows,

and escape the sinking vehicle.

Your car is basically a boat with a big leak,

and the windows will stay above the water for,

you know, 30, 40, 60 seconds.

Your electric windows will certainly work

for 30 to 60 seconds.

Could Angela Chao have saved herself

if she had a hammer or glass breaker?

Could she have broken the windows of her Tesla

and gotten out like this demonstration?

AAA's Robert Sinclair says, "Probably not."

The lamination is designed to keep shards from flying all

over the place to keep the glass as whole as possible.

So you go to hit this.

It's not going to break.

These YouTube videos show how

hard it is to break that laminated glass.

I've always thought you're supposed to try

to break the window with one of those window smasher things.

Is that really the case?

They're now building cars with laminated side windows.

So even if you had a window breaker, it won't work.

'Cause your side window is just like your windshield now,

and you can crack it, but you can't smash it.

(hammer banging) (glass cracking)

Tesla did not respond to our request for comment.

(upbeat music)