TRENTON, N.J.- A young woman who died in a fiery auto crash on the New Jersey Turnpike last weekend has been identified as Heather Bratton, a fashion model from Florida that many predicted was on the cusp of fame.
New Jersey State Police confirmed Sunday that 19-year-old Bratton was the passenger who died at the scene of a three-car collision at about 5 a.m. July 22. A statement on the Web site of her booking agency, Women Management, said she was en route to a flight at Newark International Airport.
Bratton, of Wesley Chapel, Fla., was photographed by noted fashion photographer Steven Meisel for a recent Italian Vogue cover. A dark-eyed brunette whose prominent cheekbones drew comparisons to supermodel Kate Moss, Bratton was poised for greater success, several industry observers had theorized in recent months.
“Heather was a sweet, gentle and thoughtful girl who achieved a remarkable level of success during her first year modeling, which is a credit to her distinct beauty and spirit,” according to a Women Management statement. “We were fortunate to work with her.”
A phone call to her family’s home Sunday morning was not immediately returned. Her stepfather, Tim Kerrigan, told The New York Post for Sunday’s editions that Bratton had flown to New York for a July 20 magazine photo shoot.
Stormy weather prevented her return flight the following night. She was en route to the airport in a car-service sedan Saturday morning when the vehicle broke down in the center lane of the turnpike, and was rear-ended by a sport utility vehicle.
State Police last week said the Crown Victoria, in which Bratton was a passenger, was struck by a Toyota RAV4 at southbound Exit 14. It plowed into a Toyota Sienna stopped in front of it that authorities believe had stopped to render aid. The RAV4 and the sedan both caught on fire. Bratton was trapped inside and pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Crown Victoria, 30-year-old Selim Koskar, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was hospitalized with multiple burns on his entire body. He was still in intensive care Sunday at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.
Ramon Sanchez, 23, of Jersey City, suffered broken bones while Bronx, N.Y.-resident Yoa Murry, 44, the Sienna’s drive, suffered burns to his leg.
The accident remained under investigation Sunday.
Bratton was born in West Virginia and raised near Tampa, Fla., the Post reported. This summer she appeared on catwalks in Milan and Paris, modeling for Prada, Gucci, Burberry and Chanel.
She was to be buried in South Carolina, the Post reported.