Police say alcohol played role in cheerleader's fatal plunge

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

LAHAINA, Maui — Alcohol was a factor in what Maui police are saying was the accidental death of an 18-year-old cheerleader from New Jersey who plunged nine stories from a Ka'anapali hotel room balcony Monday.

CROSSAN

Crossan, of Randolph, N.J., was on Maui with 450 other high school cheerleaders from across the country who are scheduled to perform at halftime of Saturday's Hula Bowl Maui college all-star football game at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku.

The trip was a dream come for true for the captain of the Randolph High School cheerleading competition squad. She had worked hard raising money to travel to Hawai'i.

Police said Crossan met a male guest at the hotel and ended up in his ninth-floor room Sunday night.

Another guest found Crossan's nude body below the hotel's Lahaina Tower at about 7:45 a.m. Monday — a little more than six hours after the teen had called a chaperon in her group, said acting Lt. Jamie Becraft. Nothing in the phone call indicated there was trouble, he said.

Later that day, detectives arrested two California men from whose balcony she fell. Eric B. Larson, 20, and Donald L. Devorss, 19, both of Folsom, reportedly told police that Crossan fell asleep at around 1:30 a.m. Monday.

Her clothing was in the room when police arrived to question the men, who said they didn't know what had happened to her until police told them, according to acting Lt. Tivoli Faaumu.

After a night in jail, Larson and Devorss were released Tuesday without being charged, police said.

Preliminary autopsy results indicate that Crossan was not sexually assaulted or drugged, though she had been drinking, according to Dr. Anthony Manoukian, Maui County's medical examiner.

Manoukian said the autopsy confirmed that the teen died from injuries from the fall, but he is still awaiting the final toxicology report to determine just how much alcohol was in her system.

"Alcohol was a contributing factor, that much I can tell you," Becraft said.

Almost 200 friends and fellow students grieved at a prayer service for Crossan Tuesday evening in New Jersey.

John Andrew Connell, the pastor who oversaw the service, told the Daily Record, a newspaper covering the Randolph area, that grief counselors and school resource officers were brought in to help students deal with the tragedy.

"I can't even describe how much it hurts," said Erica Bauerlein, a senior at Randolph High School who had known Lauren since both were 3 years old. "People were breaking down in school."

Crossan's family has declined to talk to the media. Others who knew her described her as energetic, positive and easy to smile.

"She was full of life," neighbor Barbara Todd told The Star-Ledger of Newark.

Crossan, an athlete who was listed as a catcher-third baseman on her school's softball team, was especially dedicated to cheerleading and had expressed the desire to continue the activity in college.

To get to Maui, Crossan tried out with the National Cheerleaders Association and was named an "All American Cheerleader," an honor accorded to only 600 cheerleaders across the United States.

Two other girls from her high school qualified for the Maui trip, and all three, plus a chaperon, checked into the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa on Sunday after a 13-hour flight. Yesterday, Crossan's classmates were no longer listed as guests of the hotel.

Larson and Devorss, who arrived at the hotel a day earlier than Crossan, also had left the hotel and could not be reached for comment yesterday. They are not affiliated with the Hula Bowl, Becraft said.

Officials with the National Cheerleaders Association could not be reached. The group annually selects outstanding high school cheerleaders to perform at the nationally televised football game on Maui.

Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.