Tests show cheerleader
was not on illegal drugsPolice may investigate where
the 18-year-old obtained her alcohol
LAHAINA, Maui >> Toxicology test results confirmed there were no illegal drugs in the system of an 18-year-old New Jersey cheerleader who died in a fall from a Kaanapali hotel balcony, Maui medical examiner Dr. Anthony Manoukian said yesterday.
Previous tests showed Lauren Crossan had a blood-alcohol content of 0.17, more than twice the legal limit for driving.
Manoukian said the results, received yesterday, seem to coincide with descriptions of Crossan's behavior with a man she met at a hot tub at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa.
"She was being very amiable with the person," Manoukian said.
The man, 20-year-old Eric Larson, of Folsom, Calif., told police he had sex with Crossan, but there was no evidence of sexual contact, Maui police said.
Manoukian said his understanding from talking with police is that Crossan did not obtain the alcohol as cocktails.
"It was from young locals. It was purchased at a store," he said.
The legal age for consuming and buying alcohol in Hawaii is 21.
Manoukian said he will be meeting with Maui police detectives to determine whether they want to continue the investigation.
Detectives have classified the death as an accident and said there was no evidence of foul play.
Crossan, a high school senior who was to participate with several hundred cheerleaders during the Hula Bowl halftime, arrived on the evening of Jan. 11 at the Hyatt.
Maui police said Crossan met Larson and his friend Donald Devorss, 19, also of Folsom, at a hot tub and went to their room on the ninth floor.
Her body was found in ground-floor foliage the next morning.
Larson and Devorss said they fell asleep, and when they awoke, they did not know Crossan's whereabouts.
Larson and Devorss were released after being questioned by police.
In earlier interviews, Manoukian said that based on the pattern of her injuries, Crossan fell directly downward and struck an ornamental portion of the building before landing in foliage below the Lahaina Tower.
He said the injuries indicate she was not pushed and did not jump from the ninth-floor balcony occupied by the two men.
Crossan's clothing was found on the floor of their hotel room.
Manoukian said besides sleep deprivation, alcohol -- especially in a young person like Crossan -- could have contributed to "misperception, confusion and disorientation."
Besides the police probe, liquor control investigators are looking into how Crossan obtained the alcohol.