Sione ʻUluvalu Ngū Takeivūlai Tukuaho (7 October 1950 – 5 July 2006 (6 July in

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

)) became the Tui Pelehake, an hereditary title in the

kingdom of Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, after the death of his father in 1999. As his father was the brother of King Tāufaāhau Tupou IV, he had the right to carry the 'his royal highness' title as well. He had one younger brother and four sisters. Uluvalu married his first wife Salote Tu'ipulotu daughter of Felise Mu'a Mo Kama Eiki Tu'ipulotu and Melelua Tu'ipulotu o
April 17th 1982
at the Heart of Reno Chapel in Reno, Nevada. Together they had one son prior to their marriage, 'Osaiasi Funganimapa 'Uluvalu Tu'ipulotu born on April 5, 1973. They later divorced on June 21, 1984. Uluvalu then remarried on the 28th of November 1998, with Kaimana Aleamotua (12 March 1960 — 5 July 2006); the couple had no children. He became a parliamentarian, the Haapai representative of the nobles, but often backing the representatives of the people and the pro-democracy movement, many of whom felt he should succeed the ailing king. He was a leading pro-democracy advocate within the royal family.
Radio New Zealand article
Tui Pelehake (Uluvalu) was dubbed the "prince of the people" by ordinary Tongans. He died prematurely at age 55, along with his wife, 45, and driver, Vinisia Hefa, 36, in a car accident on Highway 101 in

Menlo Park, California Menlo Park is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County within the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south ...

, near

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, where he was meeting with Tongan citizens to discuss reforms. Edith Delgado, 18, driving a Ford Mustang, caused the crash when her car struck the side of the red

Ford Explorer The Ford Explorer is a range of SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first four-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer was introduced as a replacement for the two-door Bronco II. Within the current Ford light ...

that the royal couple were riding in. The Explorer lost control and rolled over several times, killing all inside. Delgado's car was speeding up to 100 mph (160 km/h) and was possibly racing other cars on the highway at the time. Though she was not hurt in the accident, she was arrested at the scene. She pleaded not guilty at the first court hearing, but was jailed with a

bail bond Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

of $3 million. Attorneys for Delgado appealed the bond amount, which was 10 times larger than court guidelines suggested, and on September 11, 2006, the

California Court of Appeal The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts.

overturned the bail, finding there was no justification given in the original order for such a high amount, and ordered a new hearing September 13. She was convicted of three counts of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in June and sentenced on 24 August 2007, to two years in county jail. She had faced a maximum of three years after being acquitted of more serious felony charges. In addition, she was ordered to pay restitution of an undetermined amount to the victims' families and serve three years of supervised probation. &

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uluvalu 1950 births 2006 deaths Road incident deaths in California Tongan politicians Tongan chiefs