RIVIERA BEACH — Brilliant. Fearless. Undaunted.
Those were some of the words used to remember the life of Inlet Grove High School graduate Toryann Mcfarlane as dozens of family members, classmates, teachers and coworkers gathered for a vigil near the beach on Singer Island on the evening of May 19.
Mcfarlane died in a traffic crash early on May 13, just two days after she graduated from Inlet Grove.
Those attending the vigil, which ran for more than 90 minutes, shared memories and stories. They lit candles as day turned to night. Several released balloons as the crowd gathered near the volleyball courts. Moses Baker, an administrator at Inlet Grove, described Mcfarlane as having an infectious smile.
“Toryann was such a bright young girl. She entered Inlet Grove as a skipper,” Baker said, referencing how Mcfarlane went directly from seventh grade to high school, bypassing the eighth grade. “We knew when we interviewed her just how incredible of a person she was going to be.”
Toryann graduated from Inlet Grove, a charter school in Riviera Beach, at the age of 16. She was a member of the school’s Medical Academy, where she excelled and earned multiple industry certifications. She planned to enroll in the nursing program at Palm Beach State College, said her father, Howard Mcfarlane.
He described Toryann as a shining star and said he knew her future was bright.
“Everybody looked up to her as a leader, a genius at her age,” he told The Palm Beach Post. “It’s a proud feeling as a father.”
Howard Mcfarlane chronicled his trip from Jamaica to watch Toryann graduate, sharing happy moments from the ceremony. After the vigil, he described the grief of losing a child.
“She had a big future ahead and she (won’t) get to bring her true dreams,” he said. “It’s just a moment of grief and sadness.”
According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, Toryann was driving north on Interstate 95 shortly before 12:30 a.m. on May 13 when she lost control of the Nissan Altima she was driving and struck a guardrail and concrete wall before coming to a stop in a center lane.
She exited the vehicle and was leaning into the backseat when another vehicle, a gray BMW, struck the right side of the Nissan, throwing Toryann out of the car. A second BMW struck the Nissan as it tried to avoid the cars that had already crashed.
Toryann died at the scene. FHP said its investigation into the fatal crash remains open.
Baker said Toryann’s intellect and outgoing personality were apparent from the moment he met her.
“The first thing I noticed about her was her infectious smile, how energetic she was and how ready she was for life.” he said. “This girl was so smart.”
Jayla Moore, a junior at Inlet Grove, described Toryann as being a like a big sister and said she had a gift for helping others.
‘Tory was always there for everyone, even when she was going through stuff of her own,” she said. “The time that I can remember was when I was in school crying. I said ‘I need you’ and she came right of class, no questions. … That’s what I loved about her. That’s what I miss.”
Julius Whigham II covers northern Palm Beach County and public safety for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Inlet Grove grad remembered as shining star at vigil after fatal crash
Reporting by Julius Whigham II, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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