Plant High grad, 18, killed in crash

TAMPA -- Mary Grace Taaffe, an 18-year-old who graduated from Plant High School in May, died in a car crash in Estero this morning.

Taaffe lost control of her 1998 BMW about 3:03 a.m. while driving north in the inside lane of U.S. Highway 41, according to Florida Highway Patrol reports. Taaffe, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the car and later pronounced dead at Lee Memorial Hospital.

A passenger in the BMW, 18-year-old Erin Reid, was not seriously injured. According to FHP reports, she was wearing her seat belt.

Information from the News-Press of Fort Myers contributed to this report.

Michael A. Mohammed, Times staff writer