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Another one of those Mustang related accidents...

2K views 23 replies 19 participants last post by  Meech 
#1 ·
Why is it that when we hear about an "accident" which involves a "teen", there always seems to be a Mustang in the picture?

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - An 18-year-old charged with killing two members of the Tongan royal family and their driver in a high-speed crash pleaded not guilty Friday to vehicular manslaughter.

Edith Delgado was held in lieu of $3 million bail after her arraignment in San Mateo County Superior Court on manslaughter and speeding charges.

Delgado, who received her driver's license in February, was charged with killing Prince Tu'ipelehake, 56, and Princess Kaimana, 46, in the Wednesday night crash on Highway 101 in Menlo Park, about 30 miles south of San Francisco.

Vinisia Hefa, 36, who was driving the red Ford Explorer carrying the prince and princess, also was killed, authorities said.

If convicted, Delgado faces up to eight years in prison on the manslaughter counts, a prosecutor said.

Delgado was driving her Ford Mustang as fast as 100 mph while racing another vehicle when she hit the driver's side of the sport utility vehicle, causing it to swerve across several lanes and roll onto its roof, said California Highway Patrol Officer Ricky Franklin. Delgado was not injured, and the vehicle she was racing was not found.

"My client is very sorry she was involved in this," said defense attorney Randy Moore, who described Delgado as a hardworking honors student and bank teller. "It remains to be determined whether she bears any criminal responsibility for what took place."

The prince and princess had come to the U.S. to discuss political reforms for the South Pacific island nation with Tongan communities in the Bay Area and other parts of the country, said Senter Uhilamoelangi, a distant relative and longtime friend of the prince.

Tu'ipelehake is a nephew of 88-year-old King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who owns a mansion in Hillsborough, about 15 miles south of San Francisco. Tu'ipelehake was the leading reformist in the royal family and led a national committee studying democratic reforms for the kingdom.

"People are very much concerned, especially the people who are pushing for change," democracy movement leader 'Akilisi Pohiva said from the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa. "I think it's a great loss to the country."

Now the last monarchy in the Pacific, Tonga has been a Polynesian kingdom and a protectorate of Britain, from which it acquired independence in 1970. The 170-island archipelago about halfway between Australia and Tahiti has a population of about 108,000 and an economy dependent on pumpkin and vanilla exports, fishing, foreign aid and remittances from Tongans abroad.

The deaths stunned the Tongan community, which numbers about 37,000 in the United States, including 15,000 in California, according to the 2000 Census. Bay Area Tongans set up a memorial near the crash site Friday with flowers, their country's flag and pieces of the wreckage.

Hefa's cousin, Tulu Musua Pongi, placed flowers on the shrine. She said Hefa worked as the royal couple's secretary in Tonga before emigrating to the U.S. three years ago and served as their driver when they visited the Bay Area.

Pongi described her cousin as a "very kind, caring" person who worked as a baby sitter and sent money home to support her mother and sister.

"Everybody's feeling sad," Pongi said. "They didn't expect this happen. They're wondering what really happened that night."

Taken from Yahoo News
Teens got to learn to fear their cars...and have better judgement. But i can only guess that's achieved as we get older; coz i know i've been guilty of doin sum pretty stupid stuff back when i was younger and first got my license...
 
#2 ·
You know...when I was 16, I hated my Dad for buying the 87 Civic wagon.
It was slow and kind of ugly.
Now I realize why he did it.
If it was faster, I would've probably ended up doing something really stupid...like the 18 yr old Mustang driver. And even when I did the mildly stupid stuff, the solid chassis and 4wd were there to bail me out.
 
#4 ·
Firearms, cars, kitchen knives. These are dangerous objects that teens may find themselves exposed to. Caring, loving parents will give their teens qualified instruction in the safe and propper use of such dangerous objects.

My teens have been instructed by professionals in the safe use and care of firearms and automobiles (not at the same time). I expect that the chances of tragedy involving firearms and autmobiles to be far less for my kids that the average person without proper instruction.

The responsibility for a teen driver doing something stupid behind the wheel is entire upon the parents. I say, lock up the parents with their offending teens and you will see a rapid decrease in knucklehead teen behavior.

Scott
 
#5 ·
cbstd said:
Firearms, cars, kitchen knives. These are dangerous objects that teens may find themselves exposed to. Caring, loving parents will give their teens qualified instruction in the safe and propper use of such dangerous objects.

My teens have been instructed by professionals in the safe use and care of firearms and automobiles (not at the same time). I expect that the chances of tragedy involving firearms and autmobiles to be far less for my kids that the average person without proper instruction.

The responsibility for a teen driver doing something stupid behind the wheel is entire upon the parents. I say, lock up the parents with their offending teens and you will see a rapid decrease in knucklehead teen behavior.

Scott
Its not all the parents, its friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, other people. Its not fair to blame it all on the parents. Not that i had the best training, my mother is a bad speeder(not as fast as me). She always said to "do what she says, not what she does." It didnt help.

"My client is very sorry she was involved in this," said defense attorney Randy Moore, who described Delgado as a hardworking honors student and bank teller. "It remains to be determined whether she bears any criminal responsibility for what took place."
Got to love Attorneys, they will lie there *** of to get payed. Of course she's responsible for hitting the SUV doing 100. Saying "the devil made me do it" doesnt help. Anyway you look at it, she killed three people. "My client is very sorry she was involved in this," If she was sorry, she wouldnt have done it. Look at it this way, she's learn 3 good but bad lessons. How the court system works, what it feels like when you kill someone, not to drive like an idiot. At least she'll never drive like that again, if she drives at all.
 
#6 ·
^
thats if her lawer doesnt get her out of it somehow.
 
#8 ·
MarkWilliamson said:
In our family, we (the kids) were not allowed to drive the family vehicles. If we wanted to drive a car, we had to buy it ourselves. My first car was a $300 Ford Pinto that I bought from Kevin Barry's dad that had patterned kitchen carpet in it! Top speed was about 52 mph.
Yup-yup. Same here - if you wanted a car, you worked and bought what you could get, and it was your problem from there. My first car was a Vega; I bet your Pinto could have taken it in a race. :) And sure enough, I wrecked it within about a month, then had to do without until I could save up enough to buy another car.

Mike
 
#12 ·
ohisofly said:
Kudos on bumping a 6 year old thread noob
lol....when'd we become HT? Simma down now...he put "another" one of those mustang related accidents...which if he knew of other posts speaking of mustang related accidents...it means...

HE USED THE SEARCH.. *light beams from sky...angels play their golden harps*

He searched! woooo. So give him some credit. lol. Always thinkin you so fly. haha :)b
 
#13 ·
Dallas said:
ohisofly said:
Kudos on bumping a 6 year old thread noob
lol....when'd we become HT? Simma down now...he put "another" one of those mustang related accidents...which if he knew of other posts speaking of mustang related accidents...it means...

HE USED THE SEARCH.. *light beams from sky...angels play their golden harps*

He searched! woooo. So give him some credit. lol. Always thinkin you so fly. haha :)b
:)b
 
#19 ·
Dallas said:
ohisofly said:
Kudos on bumping a 6 year old thread noob
lol....when'd we become HT? Simma down now...he put "another" one of those mustang related accidents...which if he knew of other posts speaking of mustang related accidents...it means...

HE USED THE SEARCH.. *light beams from sky...angels play their golden harps*

He searched! woooo. So give him some credit. lol. Always thinkin you so fly. haha :)b
Haha I'm always fly!!! I'll give him props for using the search function :)b
 
#20 ·
ScottMog said:
Parents buying you guys cars? I wish... Had to buy my own...
My mother never owned a car or had a license her whole life. When I was 16 she took her income tax (we were very poor) and she bought me my first car from a guy she worked with. It was a 1987 Plymouth Horizon. I drove it for a few years, ran all her errands, was responsible for all repairs and such. When it was beyond my scope of repair finally two years later I sold it and she got all the money from the sale.
 
#22 ·
You guys make it seem so hard... I had my first car bought with my own money at 14. Keep in mind, I saved for about 18 months though. That was my 91 Integra. Didnt drive it much besides crazy **** around the back roads (FAR away from civilisation) and had to sell it two years ago when I moved out. Since then Ive bought a MPV and the CRX. If you want to know prices: Teg-$1200 MPV-$800 CRX-$1500. The Integra did cost me quite a bit for what I used it and you might go as far as saying I ruined a clean chassis, but either way, it was abused with love. :nod: Also, Id gladly add that I have not been in an accident in my 3.5 year driving history. *knocks wood* :wink:
 
#23 ·
just because any of us have driven a car like idiots on the public roads it means that it is OK to do it.
it is wrong and there is no excuse for it, if anyone wants to drive fast then either go to an empty road or a race track.
paying $20 to $50 to use a race track is far more safer and cheaper to say the least.

if any one has a problem with that statement . please reply back when you are mature enough. period :!:

The truth shall be accepted regardless of the source.

If a drug addict comes to me and says "don't use drugs...they are bad... they can mess you up" I'll take his word(btw I don't use drugs only alcohol :biggrin: )
if anyone thinks that HE is not in the right moral capacity to say those words then that person is an IDIOT..punn intended.

if it was up to me I'll charge her with vehicular homicide in the 1st degree(if there is any).

but to each its own
 
#24 ·
Since that was a "royal" family, I wouldn't doubt that they would put a hit out on her in jail. On the other hand, if this was a regular black family, a slap on the wrist would be all.

Joking aside, I agree, mossin. If you're gonna do some crazy stuff, do it away from others so the only one you hurt is yourself. I made the mistake once to carry a passenger in one of my backroad adventures and regretted it. Not that anything serious happened, but they can even be a distraction. If you really want to see what you're capable of though, go kill a few cones.
 
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