Woman, 24, killed in collision

The Wesley Chapel woman dies weeks before the fourth anniversary of her brother's death.

By REBECCA CATALANELLO, Times Staff Writer
Published November 3, 2007

TAMPA - A Clearwater couple lost their second child Friday after an early-morning crash took the life of a 24-year-old woman.

Stefannie M. Hagy of Wesley Chapel was driving east on Causeway Boulevard when her sport utility vehicle drifted into the path of an oncoming gasoline tanker.

Hagy died at the scene of the crash, two weeks before the fourth anniversary of her younger brother's death.

"She meant everything to me," said grandmother Marianne Nikolic, 85, of Henderson, Nev.

Hagy's brother, Branden George Hagy, 17, died Nov. 17, 2003, according to newspaper accounts, of what his grandmother described as heart failure.

Friday's accident happened near S 54th Street about 4:15 a.m. when Hagy's Rav4 drifted across the center line and smashed into the front of the empty westbound tanker, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The driver of the tanker, 48-year-old Ronald Shank of Largo, sustained minor injuries, the Highway Patrol said.

Nikolic said her granddaughter attended Dunedin High, where she played flute and piccolo in the school's marching band.

Hagy was taking college classes and worked part-time as a bartender, Nikolic said.

"She was beautiful, just stunning," said Nikolic, an artist who enjoyed painting portraits of Hagy.

The Highway Patrol has not filed any charges in the accident. Investigators are trying to determine why the woman's car drifted into the west lane.

The crash closed part of Causeway Boulevard between 50th Street and 78th Street for nearly five hours.

Times staff writer Casey Cora contributed to this report.

[Last modified November 2, 2007, 22:42:36]