06-14-2007, 04:04 PM
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6141164
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Jurors convicted a teenage driver Thursday of misdemeanor manslaughter for causing a freeway crash that killed two members of Tonga's royal family and another person. She was acquitted of more serious charges.
Edith Delgado was driving a car that sideswiped a sport utility vehicle carrying Prince Tu'ipelehake, 55; his wife, Princess Kaimana Aleamotu'a Tuku'aho, 46; and their driver, Vinisia Hefa, 36.
Prosecutors said Delgado, now 19, was racing another driver and hit the Ford Explorer last July at 85 mph to 100 mph on a highway about 30 miles south of San Francisco.
A San Mateo County jury acquitted Delgado of felony charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and instead convicted her of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence.
If convicted of the felonies, she would have faced up to eight years in prison. She now faces a maximum of three years in county jail. A sentencing hearing was set for Aug. 24.
Prosecutors said Delgado, who received her driver's license just five months before the crash, had shown a pattern of dangerous speeding and had received a warning from her principal at Redwood High School to slow down.
Delgado's attorney, Randy Moore, argued that the accident was not caused by negligence and described his client as an
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honor student who was on her way to visit a friend in the hospital when she slammed into the SUV.
Delgado was not injured in the crash. The vehicle prosecutors say she was racing was not found.
Prince Tu'ipelehake's sons are suing Ford, claiming the 1998 Explorer's unsafe design was primarily responsible for their father's death. The Explorer flipped and rolled over several times.
Ford says tests have shown the Explorer's handling and stability are as good or better than other SUVs.
The royal couple had gone to the San Francisco Bay area to discuss political reforms in the tiny South Pacific nation with members of the region's Tongan community. About 37,000 U.S. residents identified themselves as at least part Tongan in the 2000 Census; 15,000 of them live in California.
News of the deaths hit hard in Utah -- home to more than 8,500 Tongans.
At the time of the crash, Tu'ipelehake's itinerary included a planned visit to Salt Lake City to collect feedback to carry back to the king and parliament in Tonga.
Prince Tu'ipelehake was in Utah in February when the Salt Lake City-based National Tongan American Society established a scholarship in his name.
He had developed relationships with some of Utah's business and government leaders, including Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and Judge Michael Kwan, according to the society.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6141164
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Jurors convicted a teenage driver Thursday of misdemeanor manslaughter for causing a freeway crash that killed two members of Tonga's royal family and another person. She was acquitted of more serious charges.
Edith Delgado was driving a car that sideswiped a sport utility vehicle carrying Prince Tu'ipelehake, 55; his wife, Princess Kaimana Aleamotu'a Tuku'aho, 46; and their driver, Vinisia Hefa, 36.
Prosecutors said Delgado, now 19, was racing another driver and hit the Ford Explorer last July at 85 mph to 100 mph on a highway about 30 miles south of San Francisco.
A San Mateo County jury acquitted Delgado of felony charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and instead convicted her of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence.
If convicted of the felonies, she would have faced up to eight years in prison. She now faces a maximum of three years in county jail. A sentencing hearing was set for Aug. 24.
Prosecutors said Delgado, who received her driver's license just five months before the crash, had shown a pattern of dangerous speeding and had received a warning from her principal at Redwood High School to slow down.
Delgado's attorney, Randy Moore, argued that the accident was not caused by negligence and described his client as an
Advertisement
honor student who was on her way to visit a friend in the hospital when she slammed into the SUV.
Delgado was not injured in the crash. The vehicle prosecutors say she was racing was not found.
Prince Tu'ipelehake's sons are suing Ford, claiming the 1998 Explorer's unsafe design was primarily responsible for their father's death. The Explorer flipped and rolled over several times.
Ford says tests have shown the Explorer's handling and stability are as good or better than other SUVs.
The royal couple had gone to the San Francisco Bay area to discuss political reforms in the tiny South Pacific nation with members of the region's Tongan community. About 37,000 U.S. residents identified themselves as at least part Tongan in the 2000 Census; 15,000 of them live in California.
News of the deaths hit hard in Utah -- home to more than 8,500 Tongans.
At the time of the crash, Tu'ipelehake's itinerary included a planned visit to Salt Lake City to collect feedback to carry back to the king and parliament in Tonga.
Prince Tu'ipelehake was in Utah in February when the Salt Lake City-based National Tongan American Society established a scholarship in his name.
He had developed relationships with some of Utah's business and government leaders, including Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and Judge Michael Kwan, according to the society.