Source of alcohol
sought in fatalityOfficials are trying to determine
the events that led to the death
of a cheerleader
WAILUKU >> Maui liquor control officials are investigating how 18-year-old New Jersey cheerleader Lauren Crossan obtained alcohol before falling to her death from a hotel in Kaanapali.
Deputy Liquor Control Director Wayne Pagan said officials are working closely with Maui police in looking at the circumstances leading to her death on Jan. 12.
The legal age for drinking in Hawaii is 21.
Crossan's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit for a driver in Hawaii, according to Maui medical examiner Dr. Anthony Manoukian.
Police have classified the death as a fatal accident and believe Crossan, who was to perform with several hundred other cheerleaders during the Hula Bowl halftime, fell from a ninth-floor hotel room occupied by two men.
Her naked body was found in foliage near the Lahaina Tower of the Hyatt Maui Regency Resort & Spa on the morning of Jan. 12.
The two men, ages 19 and 20, said they and Crossan had been drinking.
The men said they went to bed, and when they awoke they did not know where Crossan was.
Police said there was no evidence of foul play, but investigators were awaiting the results of a toxicology test for the presence of drugs.