$3 million bail set; Tongans mourning (update)

DEATHS OF ROYAL COUPLE IN CAR CRASH STUN PACIFIC ISLANDERS
By John Woolfolk, Joyce Chen and Sandra Gonzales
Mercury News Wednesday, July 5, 2006.
Paul Sakuma / Associated Press

Hours after a San Mateo County judge raised bail to $3 million for the
18-year-old woman charged in a Highway 101 crash that killed a Tongan
royal couple and their driver, members of the Bay Area's tight-knit
Pacific Islander community gathered once again to share prayers, tears
and hymns.

More than 150 people -- including Tongan leaders from throughout the
state -- flooded the East Palo Alto Senior Center on Friday night to
remember the royal pair, Prince Tu'ipelehake, and his wife, Princess
Kaimana, along with their driver, Vinisia Hefa, all of whom were killed
Wednesday night.

At the memorial, which resembled a church service, the prince's older
sister spoke lovingly of her late brother and sister-in-law.

``We were very close,'' Princess Mele Siu'ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu
Fotofili said from her perch on a stage adorned with ceremonial mats
and the Tongan flag. Moments before, she had held her hands up in song
while weeping. ``I had the honor of being their spiritual mentor. He
was a great friend of mine. We would share our sorrows.''

Earlier Friday, in another somber setting, Edith Delgado, 18, of
Redwood City, appeared briefly in a San Mateo County courtroom that was
packed with her friends and relatives, as well as with a few relatives
and supporters of Hefa and the royals.

Delgado's lawyer pleaded not guilty on her behalf to involuntary
manslaughter. Her family left the courtroom in tears and would not
speak to reporters after San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Thomas
McGinn Smith raised her bail from $300,000 to $3 million. He scheduled
a bail hearing for Thursday and a preliminary hearing for July 20.

Outside the courtroom, San Jose attorney Randy Moore, hired by
Delgado's family, said he would fight the bail amount. He described
Delgado as a model teenager caught up in a tragic accident that has
left her frightened, tearful and sorry for those who died.

``She is so terribly sorry about what has happened to those people,''
Moore said. ``All I can tell you is that she's a lovely young girl. You
wouldn't mind having her as your own daughter. I don't want two
tragedies to occur here.''

But Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti said although ``this kind
of collision is extremely tragic,'' her office would oppose lowering
bail on grounds that Delgado is reckless.

``There are clearly issues of safety,'' Guidotti said.

Authorities said Hefa, 36, was driving the 55-year-old prince and the
45-year-old princess north on Highway 101 just before 9 p.m. Wednesday
when Delgado sped past in her white 1998 Ford Mustang. While changing
lanes north of Willow Road, Delgado allegedly clipped the driver side
of the royals' red 1998 Ford Explorer.

The collision caused the Explorer to swerve out of control, roll
several times and land on its roof in the right shoulder of the
highway, killing everyone inside.

The Menlo Park Fire Department said all three were wearing seat belts
but appeared to have suffered massive head injuries. The San Mateo
County Coroner's Office has not yet determined the official cause of
their deaths.

Delgado stopped at the scene and was arrested on suspicion of vehicular
manslaughter and illegal speed contest. The California Highway Patrol
said Delgado was driving as fast as 100 mph and may have been racing a
black Cadillac Escalade with ``spinner-type rims'' that exited at Marsh
Road.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said prosecutors
declined to file racing charges against Delgado, although his office is
still investigating. The charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross
negligence were based on evidence of Delgado's speed and driving
behavior, Wagstaffe said.

Moore, her lawyer, brought copies of honor roll certificates from
Redwood High School to the courthouse to show that Delgado was not a
troublemaker. Redwood High, a ``continuation school'' in the Sequoia
Union High School District, serves students who are behind on their
credits by offering more flexibility and attention than regular high
schools provide.

Moore said he wasn't sure whether Delgado had just graduated but said
she had been working as a bank teller.

Alejandra Arce, 25, of East Palo Alto, a friend of the family's who
came to the courthouse to show support, said she could not believe
accusations that Delgado was racing.

``We know she's not like that,'' Arce said.

Prince Tu'ipelehake, a nephew of 88-year-old Tongan King Taufa'ahau
Tupou IV, was a leading advocate for democratic reforms in the tiny
island-chain nation and was said to be popular both at home and with
Tongan expatriates abroad.

About 8,200 Tongans call the Bay Area home, according to the 2000
Census. A large number live in East Palo Alto, as well as in San Bruno,
Redwood City, San Mateo and Oakland. The Tongan government keeps a
6,000-square-foot mansion in Hillsborough.

Well-wishers on Friday erected a makeshift memorial near the crash
site, laying quilts and flowers among debris from the wreckage. On one
quilt they wrote, ``Ofa atu,'' which Nanaimo Loughery said means ``We
Love You.''

``He's the people's prince,'' said Loughery, 41, of Redwood City, as
she wiped away tears after laying a bouquet of white roses. ``I wanted
to show respect. It's so sad.''

Loughery said she also was sad for Delgado and her family.

``My heart goes out to her,'' Loughery said. ``I don't think she meant
it.''

Topui Fifita of San Mateo, attending Friday night's memorial service,
said, ``It's a big loss to the island. We were expecting to have some
democratic reform. This is probably going to delay it for a period of
time.''

Mercury News Staff Writer Jessie Seyfer contributed to this report.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/14994390.htm
--

I guess under US law some people's lives are considered more valuable
than others...
----

- gpsman

gpsman wrote:

<snip>

>
> I guess under US law some people's lives are considered more valuable
> than others...

this is not exactly breaking news.

nate

"gpsman" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Mercury News Staff Writer Jessie Seyfer contributed to this report.
>
> http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/14994390.htm
> --
>
> I guess under US law some people's lives are considered more valuable
> than others...

Why do you say this? (And I'm not disagreeing.) From what was stated in
the article, the bail was set extremely high because of the driver's
recklessness(1) and, I'm inferring, the fact that _three_ people were
killed(2).

I suppose one could also infer that because of _who_ was killed the bail was
set at a more punitive amount, but regardless of the amount I have no
problem with $3M... not one bit.

brink

(1) alleged
(2) allegedly

In article >,
brink > wrote:
>
>"gpsman" > wrote in message
roups.com...
>>
>> Mercury News Staff Writer Jessie Seyfer contributed to this report.
>>
>> http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/14994390.htm
>> --
>>
>> I guess under US law some people's lives are considered more valuable
>> than others...
>
>Why do you say this? (And I'm not disagreeing.) From what was stated in
>the article, the bail was set extremely high because of the driver's
>recklessness(1) and, I'm inferring, the fact that _three_ people were
>killed(2).
>
>I suppose one could also infer that because of _who_ was killed the bail was
>set at a more punitive amount, but regardless of the amount I have no
>problem with $3M... not one bit.

Bail isn't supposed to be punitive at all; it's supposed to ensure the
offender's appearance in court. If $3M is out of line with the amount
of bail usually imposed in similar vehicular homicide cases, then
there's a serious constitutional question raised.
--
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can
result in a fully-depreciated one.

"Matthew Russotto" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> brink > wrote:
>>
>>"gpsman" > wrote in message
groups.com...
>>>
>>> Mercury News Staff Writer Jessie Seyfer contributed to this report.
>>>
>>> http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/14994390.htm
>>> --
>>>
>>> I guess under US law some people's lives are considered more valuable
>>> than others...
>>
>>Why do you say this? (And I'm not disagreeing.) From what was stated in
>>the article, the bail was set extremely high because of the driver's
>>recklessness(1) and, I'm inferring, the fact that _three_ people were
>>killed(2).
>>
>>I suppose one could also infer that because of _who_ was killed the bail
>>was
>>set at a more punitive amount, but regardless of the amount I have no
>>problem with $3M... not one bit.
>
> Bail isn't supposed to be punitive at all; it's supposed to ensure the
> offender's appearance in court. If $3M is out of line with the amount
> of bail usually imposed in similar vehicular homicide cases, then
> there's a serious constitutional question raised.

"Punitive" was a poor choice of word, sorry. I meant to imply "punitive" in
the sense of someone having to forego $3M if the offender fails to appear...

brink

gpsman wrote:
>
> Delgado's lawyer pleaded not guilty on her behalf to involuntary
> manslaughter. Her family left the courtroom in tears and would not
> speak to reporters after San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Thomas
> McGinn Smith raised her bail from $300,000 to $3 million. He scheduled
> a bail hearing for Thursday and a preliminary hearing for July 20.
>

Bail at $3M?? That's proper IMO but still unusual. In most
jurrisdictions this cold-blooded killer would have gotten ROR.

"Laura Bush murdered her boy friend" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> gpsman wrote:
>>
>> Delgado's lawyer pleaded not guilty on her behalf to involuntary
>> manslaughter. Her family left the courtroom in tears and would not
>> speak to reporters after San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Thomas
>> McGinn Smith raised her bail from $300,000 to $3 million. He scheduled
>> a bail hearing for Thursday and a preliminary hearing for July 20.
>>
>
> Bail at $3M?? That's proper IMO but still unusual. In most
> jurrisdictions this cold-blooded killer would have gotten ROR.
>

Most likely the US State Department or DOJ, if not the President, had a few
encouraging words to say over the matter. As they aren't going to allow this
one slip quietly away and give the guilty party a slap on the wrist.

> richard said in rec.autos.driving:
> Most likely the US State Department or DOJ, if not the President, had a few
> encouraging words to say over the matter.

To be quite honest, it doesn't suprise me at all that that jug-eared POS
we call president would support the interests of royalty over The
American People, Justice, The Rule of Law and of Our very Freedoms as
well. His dam klan of subversives has been trying to become American
royalty since atleast 1988 and that other klan of subversives, the
kennedys, have been doing it since well before then.

Off hand, I'd say that it is time for some house cleaning at the state
department, the doj and especially the white house if what you are
saying is true.

On Wed, 12 Jul 2006 20:09:46 -0600, "richard" >
wrote:

>
>"Laura Bush murdered her boy friend" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>>
>> gpsman wrote:
>>>
>>> Delgado's lawyer pleaded not guilty on her behalf to involuntary
>>> manslaughter. Her family left the courtroom in tears and would not
>>> speak to reporters after San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Thomas
>>> McGinn Smith raised her bail from $300,000 to $3 million. He scheduled
>>> a bail hearing for Thursday and a preliminary hearing for July 20.
>>>
>>
>> Bail at $3M?? That's proper IMO but still unusual. In most
>> jurrisdictions this cold-blooded killer would have gotten ROR.
>>
>
>Most likely the US State Department or DOJ, if not the President, had a few
>encouraging words to say over the matter. As they aren't going to allow this
>one slip quietly away and give the guilty party a slap on the wrist.
>

Good point. When big shots get killed, vehicular manslaughter is
treated as the serious matter it really is. If it turns out this
driver was racing, she might even be charged with murder. Fine with
me but it should be that way irregardless of who the victim is.

On Thu, 13 Jul 2006 08:31:13 -0400, necromancer
> wrote:

>> richard said in rec.autos.driving:
>> Most likely the US State Department or DOJ, if not the President, had a few
>> encouraging words to say over the matter.
>
>To be quite honest, it doesn't suprise me at all that that jug-eared POS
>we call president would support the interests of royalty over The
>American People,

This driver killed two people!! Don't portray her as representing the
american people!!! I hope she's locked up forever and i don't care if
she killed a king or a homeless bum.