Meghan Grey, college student, daughter of prominent Pasco attorney Frank Grey and niece of real estate tycoon Chuck Grey, died Sunday in a one-car accident in Taylor County. She was 19.

Ms. Grey transferred from Florida State University last fall to University of South Florida. She headed to Tallahassee on Thursday to see friends at FSU, planning to head back home to New Port Richey on Sunday.

She left about 5:30 p.m. Hours passed, and when her mother didn't hear from her, Cheri Grey sent her daughter a few text messages to see how her trek home was going.

When Ms. Grey didn't respond, her father took matters into his own hands.

"Frank said, 'I am not waiting any longer, you call Highway Patrol,' " Cheri Grey said. "He said he was going to find her. He wondered if she was on the side of the road and couldn't charge her phone."

Florida Highway Patrol told Cheri Grey they didn't have any reported accidents.

But an hour later, as Frank Grey headed north on U.S. 19, a corporal from the Highway Patrol knocked on the door of his New Port Richey home.

She told Cheri Grey and her sons, Frankie, 17, and Michael, 9, that Ms. Grey over-corrected her Plymouth Breeze, flipping the car over. She hadn't been speeding, and had worn her seat belt.

"I just cried out," said Cheri Grey. "I said, 'My baby girl's not coming home.' "

Frank Grey was near Homosassa when the corporal called to break the news to him. The officer stayed at the Greys' home until he returned.

Friends and family gathered at the Greys' home on Tuesday to console each other. The funeral will be Thursday.

They said they would miss the woman who played piano and guitar, who sang at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in New Port Richey.

She ran track and worked at the front desk at Ridgewood High School, and listened to singers Billy Joel and Josh Groban.

She loved plays and all things theater, and was scheduled to play Ophelia in the Richey Suncoast Theater's production of Hamlet next month.

She learned to bake at a cooking school, and often made homemade biscotti and coconut cookies that stood tall like pine trees.

Andy Kern, assistant principal at Ridgewood High School, said he doesn't remember who told him about Ms. Grey's death. He just remembers his reaction.

"Two things happened. My jaw dropped, and my eyes welled up with tears," he said. "The biggest problem will be how many people we can get to the funeral, because just about everybody wants to go."