Teen's bail lowered to $1 million

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Sep 14, 2006 | by Kelly Pakula, STAFF WRITER

REDWOOD CITY -- Though her bail was reduced to $1 million Wednesday, the attorney for Edith Delgado, an East Palo Alto teen accused of causing a highway crash that killed three people, including two members of the Tongan royal family, said it's likely his client will still not be able to post bail.

A former bank teller, Delgado, 18, has been in custody since the July 5 accident on northbound U.S. Highway 101 in Menlo Park that killed Tongan Prince Tu'ipelehake, 54, and Princess Kaimana, 45, as well as their driver Vinisia Hefa, 36.

Delgado's Ford Mustang hit a Ford Explorer driven by Hefa and carrying the royal couple, causing it to roll several times and land on its roof, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Prosecutor Aaron Fitzgerald said Delgado was seen weaving in and out of traffic at speeds between 90 and 110 mph. The district attorney's office alleges Delgado was racing a black Escalade at the time of the crash.

"The defendant had a complete and utter disregard for human life on the day that she killed three innocent victims," Fitzgerald said in Superior Court Judge Robert Foiles' courtroom Wednesday. "The facts in this case are outrageous." Since her arrest, Delgado remained behind bars in lieu of $3 million bail. Her attorney, Randy Moore, appealed the bail amount in July after Foiles declined to lower it. That appeal was granted by the state Court of Appeal in San Francisco on Friday.

In court Wednesday, Moore once again asked Foiles to either release Delgado on her own recognizance or reduce her bail to $100,000.

"I humbly request the court, in this particular case, to reduce the bail in this particular case to at most $100,000," Moore said. "I would like to see this 18-year-old girl go home."

Foiles said that based on his concern for public safety the appropriate bail amount for Delgado is $1 million.

"Three people were killed in this accident. This is a horrendous, horrific situation," Foiles said.

"There are just no assurances that this won't happen again. It's an issue of protecting the public and a driver who drives on the streets of San Mateo County," Foiles added.

Upon hearing her bail would only be reduced to $1 million, Delgado, who appeared in orange jail clothing with her hair pulled back in a tight bun, immediately began to cry. Outside Foiles' courtroom, Moore said Delgado is just a "terrified 18-year-old girl."

She will get through this," Moore said. "People are going to find out the truth of this matter and I don't think her conduct is as culpable or as grievous as it's being alleged."

Moore said he is again considering appealing Delgado's bail.

Delgado will return to court on Sept. 20 for her preliminary hearing.

Staff writer Kelly Pakula can be reached at (650) 306-2425 or by e-mail at kpakula@sanmateocountytimes.com.