She had been a part of The Paideia School community for most of her life. Her older sister also attends the Atlanta private school, and Molly Wrede’s parents both work at the school.
On Monday, the same close-knit community was mourning the death of Molly, who died in a plane crash while visiting Puerto Rico with her best friend. Molly recently completed ninth grade, according to the school’s headmaster. She was 15.
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“She was a sweet, caring young woman, and I will always remember her smile,” teacher Eddy Hernandez told Channel 2 Action News.
Hernandez, who taught Molly in French, said she loved to sing and dance. She also wore No. 7 for the junior varsity volleyball team and ran track at the school, located on Ponce de Leon Avenue.
Another rising sophomore at Paideia, Casey Ellyson, was injured in the crash, along with her father, Scott, officials said. The plane’s pilot, Jose Diaz, 22, of Puerto Rico also was also injured when the Air America plane crashed off the coast of Pinones, east of San Juan, according to the Associated Press. It had just taken off from the capital's international airport on a flight to Culebra island.
The three survivors were rescued by people who were swimming or sunbathing on a nearby beach and went to the crash site in kayaks. The crash remains under investigation. Two other members of the Ellyson family were in a separate plane and were not injured.
Classmates, teachers and friends gathered at Paideia on Sunday after learning of Molly’s death. Funeral arrangements were pending late Monday.
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