Student at Tampa’s Plant High dies in Friday motorcycle crash

TAMPA — A 17-year-old junior at Plant High School died in a motorcycle crash Friday, according to an online obituary from Segal Funeral Home.
The student, Benjamin W. Francis, was a motorcycle enthusiast, the obituary said.
Tampa Police said Saturday they were investigating a fatal crash at S Lois Avenue and W Bay to Bay Boulevard that occurred shortly before 2 p.m. Friday. A police spokesperson on Sunday would not confirm Francis was the victim in that accident or any further details, but said updated information would be released Monday.
Francis was interested in “anything mechanical” and created art and gifts for loved ones using a 3D printer, the obituary said. Recently, it said, he enjoyed working on remote control cars, boats and airplanes.
Survivors include his mother and step father, Iris and Chris Rodgers; his father, Gary Francis, and fiancé, Beatrice Fritsche; and grandparents, Josef and Margit Kraft and Terry Francis.