Edith Delgado was convicted today of three misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter for causing a freeway crash last year that killed three people, including two members of Tonga's royal family. She was acquitted of more serious charges. Delgado, of Redwood City, Calif., was driving a car that sideswiped a sport utility vehicle carrying Prince Tu'ipelehake, 55, his wife, Princess Kaimana Aleamotu'a Tuku'aho, 46, and their driver, Vinisia Hefa, 36. AP library photo | July 2006   Graciela Delgado, mother of Edith Delgado, hugs her niece, Ana Salgado, back to camera, as her son, Jose Delgado cries after today's verdict in a Redwood City, Calif., courtroom. PAUL SAKUMA | Associated Press

Edith Delgado, of Redwood City, was driving a car that sideswiped a sport utility vehicle carrying Prince Tu'ipelehake, 55, his wife, Princess Kaimana Aleamotu'a Tuku'aho, 46 and their driver, Vinisia Hefa, 36.

Prosecutors said Delgado, now 19, was racing another driver and hit the Ford Explorer while driving between 85 mph and 100 mph on Highway 101 in Menlo Park, about 30 miles south of San Francisco, last July 5.

A San Mateo County jury on Thursday found Delgado not guilty of felony charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and instead found her guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence.

If convicted of the felonies, she would have faced up to eight years in prison. She now only faces a maximum of three years in county jail. A sentencing hearing was set for Aug. 24.

Prosecutors said Delgado, who received her driver's license just five months before the crash, had shown a pattern of dangerous speeding and previously had received a warning from her principal at Redwood High School to slow down.

Delgado's attorney, Randy Moore, argued that the accident was not caused by negligence and described his client as an honor student who was on her way to visit a friend in the hospital when she slammed into the SUV.

Delgado was not injured in the crash. The other vehicle was not found.

The royal couple had come to the San Francisco Bay area to discuss political reforms in the tiny South Pacific nation with members of the region's Tongan community. About 37,000 U.S. residents identified themselves as at least part Tongan in the 2000 Census; 15,000 of them live in California.