Tonga royals killed in California crash - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |

Tonga royals killed in California crash

(San Francisco-AP) July 7, 2006 - A prince and princess from the South Pacific island nation of Tonga had come to the United States to discuss political reform at home. They were killed in a car crash near San Francisco, struck by a teenage driver who allegedly was drag racing.

The prince was a nephew of Tonga's king and the leading reformist in the royal family.

The California Highway Patrol says 18-year-old Edith Delgado of Redwood City allegedly was racing her car at speeds up to 100 miles-per-hour on a highway in Menlo Park Wednesday night when she tried to pass the SUV in which the Tongan couple was traveling.

The car slammed into the driver's side of the SUV.

The driver of the SUV also was killed, and Delgado was not injured. She has been jailed on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and engaging in a speed contest.

Tonga is a 170-island archipelago about halfway between Australia and Tahiti. It has a population of about 108,000 and an economy dependent on pumpkin and vanilla exports, fishing, foreign aid and remittances from Tongans abroad.

Posted 8:38am by Bryce Mursch