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Rising model dies in accident

The Pasco woman, who was compared to Kate Moss, perishes as her rental car burns in New Jersey.

By JODIE TILLMAN
Published July 31, 2006

	[Special to the Times]
	Heather Bratton on a recent cover of Vogue Italia magazine. Bratton was killed recently in an auto accident.
	[AP photo]
	The modeling career of Heather Bratton, shown in a fashion show, was about to take off.

WESLEY CHAPEL - She had the sharp cheekbones, the dark eyes, the porcelain skin. She stood tall and thin and could look like a serene girl or a haunted woman.

Heather Bratton of Wesley Chapel had that distinct supermodel look. In less than a year, she had wowed fashion industry types with her runway appearances in Milan and Paris. Her photograph appeared on the cover of Vogue Italian.

But just as the 19-year-old, whose family lived on a Wesley Chapel cul-de-sac, seemed destined to live up to her promise, her life ended in a fiery crash on the New Jersey Turnpike.

"The last year of her life, she did so much," said Nancy Jeanbaptiste, a neighbor of Bratton's family in the Northwood subdivision. "I'd say she was a successful model, in less than a year."

On Sunday, her family was in South Carolina, where she will be buried, and could not be reached.

Bratton was in New York for a July 20 magazine photo shoot, her stepfather, Tim Kerrigan, told the New York Post. New York State Police say she was leaving the city and headed to the airport in a car-service sedan early on July 22 when the vehicle broke down in the center lane of the turnpike.

The sedan was struck from behind by a Toyota RAV4. The sedan then hit a Toyota Sienna stopped in front of it. The RAV4 and the sedan both caught on fire. Bratton was trapped inside and pronounced dead at the scene.

Bratton lived with her mother, stepfather and four younger siblings in Wesley Chapel but was often gone in the past year to places such as France and Japan for modeling assignments, neighbors said.

Her mother, Wendy, and stepfather bought the home in 2001, property records show. Tim Kerrigan is a general manager at Cracker Barrel, and Wendy stays home with the children, said Jeanbaptiste.

"They are a warm, church-going family," she said.

Bratton herself was friendly and unpretentious, said Jeanbaptiste. Her family called her "Sissy."

"She was tall, gorgeous and low-key," Jeanbaptiste said.

A long way from Wesley Chapel, Bratton seemed poised for a big break. In February, Nian Fish, creative director and senior vice president at KCD, which produces shows for top fashion houses, predicted that Bratton would have "an amazing season."

Others compared her to a young Kate Moss, the supermodel whose waifish build became an iconic look in the industry.

"Heather was a sweet, gentle and thoughtful girl who achieved a remarkable level of success during her first year modeling," said a statement from her booking agency, Women Management, "which is a credit to her distinct beauty and spirit."

Fashion industry Web sites on Sunday carried news of Bratton's death. On the Web site "The Ones to Watch" someone posted a message that said, "What a waste of a beautiful girl, now a beautiful angel."

[Last modified July 31, 2006, 01:50:34]