Bayside teen dies in Florida traffic accident

A promising Bayside teenager that lit up the lives of those around her, had her life cut short when she was killed Friday evening in a horrific traffic accident in Tampa, FL.
Kaitlyn Grogan, 18, a senior at Archbishop Molloy High School was in the sunshine state for a college soccer showcase with her team, the FC New York United Tigers, when she was struck along with teammate Brittany Gruber, 17, of West Islip by a 2006 Acura as they crossed busy Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa at 10 p.m. Friday, February 15.
Grogan, who had dreams of becoming a doctor, was pronounced dead on the scene. Gruber, meanwhile, was rushed to nearby St. Joseph’s Hospital with head injuries. She has since been upgraded to stable condition. Because the driver, Aaron Carr, had a green light, he was not charged.
Despite the accident, the FC Tigers finished the tournament in Grogan’s memory. They wrote her name on their uniform sleeves, prayed in her memory before an emotional game last Sunday and propped her picture next to their bench.
“She was gorgeous inside and out,” her heartbroken father, Terrence, said. “She was just a beautiful person. I cannot tell you how many people told me so many wonderful things about her. She touched so many people.”
“God just took the prettiest rose in the garden,” he added.
The Briarwood school, where she was an honor roll student and played for three seasons, will hold a memorial service in the coming weeks, athletic director Michael McCleary said. A candlelight vigil was held last Wednesday at O’Connor Park in Bayside in her memory. She was remembered, by friends and her soccer coach, as a teen who could light up a room.
“She was always smiling, always smiling and laughing,” first-year coach Lauren Spota said. “A very driven girl, vision oriented. She knew what she wanted to do and where she was going and she was very committed to getting there.”
Kerri White, a senior at the school, met Grogan the summer before high school began, and the two formed a quick bond. Grogan played basketball her freshman year, but later directed her energy to soccer. She nevertheless remained close with the school’s basketball team, White said.
“She was just so happy and energetic,” White said. “She always made everyone’s day better. I am shocked. Everyone is in disbelief. Nobody can believe this amazing girl is gone.”
“You never saw her upset - ever,” White added. “You could be in a bad mood and she would change that. She was so charismatic and friendly with everyone. She didn’t have one enemy.”
In her memory, the Katy Grogan Scholarship Fund has been established so that each year a deserving student from Sacred Heart School in Bayside, where she graduated in 2004, can attend Archbishop Molloy.