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Memorials Mark Site Of Fatal Plant City Crash

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By JOSH POLTILOVE, D'ANN WHITE and GEORGE WILKENS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 6, 2008

PLANT CITY - By Tuesday morning, impromptu roadside memorials marked the location where two teens died early Monday when their vehicles crashed after colliding on State Road 60.

Two other teens who were passengers remained hospitalized.

Funeral services will be held Friday for 17-year-old Nicholas Marcotrigiano, one of two Bloomingdale High School students killed in the crash.

The service for Marcotrigiano, the son of a Tampa police captain, will be at 10 a.m. at Serenity Meadows Memorial Park and Funeral Home, 6919 Providence Road, Riverview. The family will receive friends from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Serenity Meadows Memorial Park Chapel.

"He is survived by an extended loving family and friends," an obituary notice sent to The Tampa Tribune states. "It should be known to all that Nic was always happy and loved life, as he did his friends. So smile and remember him as he was."

Funeral information wasn't available Tuesday for Hailey Weatherly, 15, of Valrico, the other student and driver killed in the two-vehicle crash.

Marcotrigiano's passenger, Brandon L. Simonds, 17, of Valrico, was in critical condition Tuesday at Tampa General Hospital. Weatherly's passenger, Amelia Lee Gold, 16, of Valrico, was in serious condition at Tampa General. Simonds and Gold attend Bloomingdale High and are slated to be juniors this school year.

Balloons, bouquets, a wreath of yellow daisies and red roses with a "Friend" banner, and posters with handwritten sentiments from classmates were placed beside an orange grove next to the four-lane divided highway near Mud Lake Road.

A 5-foot-high white cross erected next to the tree where Marcotrigiano's 1996 Ford Ranger came to rest is dedicated to him and Weatherly. Dozens of their friends had signed the memorial.

On the opposite side of the state highway, a wooden fence that the 1999 Jeep Cherokee driven by Weatherly crashed through has been repaired. After going through the fence, the Jeep struck a tree and overturned, throwing out Weatherly.

Friends of some of the students involved in the crash visited the scene Tuesday. Amanda Sauls said her friend, Gold, needs rehabilitation and it could be months before she is fully able to walk.

Kaitlyn Parker, a longtime friend of Gold, said Gold is a strong girl and will get through the tragedy.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Weatherly was driving east alongside Marcotrigiano when the vehicles collided about 12:10 a.m. Monday.

Marcotrigiano, who lived in Plant City, received his driver's license in February 2006. In October 2007, he was cited for not wearing a seat belt. In January, he was cited for driving 72 mph in a 45 mph zone; adjudication was withheld. In July, he was cited for failing to obey a traffic sign/device.

Weatherly had a learner's permit, but there was no one in the vehicle who was at least 21 years old, a requirement, patrol spokesman Steve Gaskins said.

None of the teens was wearing a seat belt, troopers said.

News Channel 8 reporter Jennifer Leigh contributed to this report. Reporter D'Ann White can be reached at (813) 657-4524 or dlwhite@tampatrib.com.

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