Woman Who Caused Deadly Tongan Royal Crash Back in Jail

Edith Delgado will spend at least the next five months behind bars.

A Redwood City woman convicted of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the 2006 crash deaths of two Tongan royal family members and  their driver woke up in a jail cell Thursday morning.

Edith Delgado, 20, will spend the next seven months behind bars, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Delgado was convicted in June 2007 of causing a rollover crash July 5, 2006, on U.S. Highway 101 in Menlo Park that killed Tongan royal family members Prince Tu'ipelehake, 54; Princess Kaimana  Tu'ipelehake, 45; and their driver, Vinisia Hefa, 36.

She was originally sentenced to two years in county jail. Judge John Runde ordered Delgado to serve consecutive sentences for the three victims.

Delgado has been free on $100,000 bail while her attorneys pursued an appeal of her sentence, but the state court of appeals in August upheld Delgado's conviction and the two-year sentence.

Delgado had already served about 11 months before being released, and with additional credits for good behavior she faces about seven months in jail, Wagstaffe said. With good behavior she could be out in five months.

She appeared in San Mateo County Superior Court Wednesday.  Her attorney requested that the remainder of the sentence be deleted or that Delgado serve the remainder of her sentence at home under electronic monitoring, according to Wagstaffe.

Both requests were denied and Delgado was handcuffed and taken away.

Members of the Tongan family have said publicly they forgive Delgado, but that they would not make any plea to reduce her sentence.

Copyright BAYCN - Bay City News
Contact Us