Family of alumna killed in US-127 crash disputes Isabella County Sheriff's Office report
Mark Mann was moved after reading a Facebook post about his late daughter, Taylor Mann, that said “she spread her light like glitter.”
“I think that was very appropriate for Taylor,” Mark Mann said. ”She was a beautiful soul. She made the world a better place and if she lived a little longer, she would’ve made it a much better place.”
Taylor Mann, 24, was killed in a single-car rollover accident in Isabella County on Sept. 9, according to the Isabella County Sheriff’s Office. Mann was a 2016 alumna of Central Michigan University and resided in the Lake area.
The sheriff’s office issued a press release Saturday that stated she was ejected from the vehicle. The release also stated that Mann may have been distracted by her cellphone when the crash occurred.
Those claims are being disputed by Mann’s family.
“This was a freak accident,” said Cindy Naegele, Taylor’s mother. “We don’t want any miscommunication on how my daughter died. It was an accident. She didn’t do anything wrong.”
Police notified Mark Mann the time between her last cellphone activity and the accident was about 30 minutes.
“The cellphone did not have anything to do with it,” Mann said.
He also said his daughter was wearing her seatbelt. Mann said the sheriff’s office has confirmed these details to him.
When Central Michigan Life sought comment from the Isabella County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, Sheriff Michael Main said he had not seen a report but believed the investigation was “pretty much closed.”
The sheriff’s department hasn’t changed anything on its end, Main said.
Main said he would have to look at the report, but deputies on scene saw she was ejected from the vehicle.
Deputies noticed Mann had used her phone prior to the accident, the sheriff said. He added there is no reason to review it with a one-car rollover crash.
“Was (she on her phone) during that time of the accident? It’s hard to say,” Main said. “That’s why we wrote in the press release that it may have been a factor. Obviously, something got her attention and distracted her because she left the roadway.”
Originally from the Hillsdale area, Taylor Mann worked as a bartender and at Centria Autism Healthcare Services. Mann earned enough money to leave her bartending job and work at the autism center in Mount Pleasant, her father said.
Play-Doh, puzzle pieces and toys were picked up from his daughter’s vehicle after the accident, according to Mark Mann.
Naegele said one of her daughter’s pets, a gray cat named Chevy, was in the vehicle during the accident. A first responder saw him run into the woods. As far as Naegle is aware of, the cat has been spotted twice. The cat is microchipped and is “skiddish,” Naegele said.
A cash reward has been posted online for Chevy. Naegele said the cat is one of Taylor’s three beloved pets, which she called her “furbabies.”
“She had amazing friends,” Naegele said of her daughter. “(Taylor Mann) loved animals. She was extremely bright. She was very outgoing and personable and she had a smile that could light up any room. She was just so full of life.”
Many of Taylor Mann’s friends still attend CMU. West Bloomfield junior Adeliya Yusubova said Mann was going to move in with her after accepting her new role at Centria Autism.
Jenison senior Rachael Belke said Taylor was a person she could go to with anything.
“She was such an incredible friend whose presence radiated positivity,” Belke said. “In the past couple days, people I didn’t even realize knew her have reached out to me to share ways she touched their lives. It’s really comforting to hear the beautiful memories so many of us had with her.”
Funeral services for Taylor Mann are at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at 1780 E. Ball Road in Hillsdale. Naegele said friends are welcome to attend, but the family is requesting friends bring hors d’oeuvre or snacks.
