MTI standout killed in crash on U.S. 301

MANATEE — The future could not have been brighter for Manatee Technical Institute standout Henrique Romero Graf, but only devastation remains among those who knew him in the wake of a Sunday crash that took his life.

A Sarasota woman is under investigation in what the Florida Highway Patrol suspects was an alcohol-related crash at U.S. 301 and Tallevast Road.

Those who knew Graf, 21, are struggling to cope with his loss.

“He was one of the good ones,” said his former MTI instructor Dave Grenier. “That kid was satisfaction, had his head on right. He was a great kid to be with, who made friends and kept them.”

FHP troopers say Graf, of Sarasota, died at the scene after a 2002 Pontiac four-door driven by Mary Zimmerman, 32, plowed into the rear of his van.

The FHP report said Zimmerman was driving south on U.S. 301 straddling both the left and right lanes of the road, and did not see Graf’s van driving in front her. The collision sent Graf’s van spinning onto a grass median, where the vehicle overturned.

Zimmerman remains under investigation but has not been arrested because she was hospitalized after the crash, according to FHP Lt. Chris Miller.

Her blood was taken at the hospital after the wreck and has been sent to the laboratory for testing. Charges are pending results of those tests.

“The fact that the driver was straddling both lanes is a concern for us,” Miller said.

Graf graduated from MTI in June after completing the school’s precision machining program. He also is a graduate of MTI’s automotive program.

“It is a tough program. It is really learning a new language,” said Grenier, Graf’s precision machine instructor. “But he picked it up quick. Just a pleasure to teach. He would have been an asset to this country for a long time. This is a true tragedy.”

Graf had recently gotten a job in his field and was excited to put his years of work in school to good use. But he also planned to give back to those younger than him at Southeast High School, where he graduated in 2005. He had just volunteered to be a mentor in the school’s technology student association, according to school district spokesperson Margi Nanney.

Also a volunteer with the association, Nanney often talked with Graf and his family. She and Graf had a conversation about his upcoming mentorship Saturday, just hours before the wreck.

“This is such a senseless loss. A real tragedy and lesson on how fragile life is,” Nanney said. “Our hearts go out to this family.”