INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The man who led the Hospital District’s negotiations with the Indian River Medical Center was killed Tuesday night in a single-car crash on A1A, leaving the board at a loss.
Police speculated that the accident was caused by a grave medical attack. But they won’t know for sure until the results of an autopsy are released.
Trevor Smith, 74, was identified as the driver of a Jaguar that crashed into a utility pole and berm shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 1.
Prior to his death Tuesday evening, he attended a finance committee meeting at the hospital, where hospital leaders announced they were altering plans for a Wellness Center that had been approved by the Hospital District last year.
Smith was the lead negotiator for the seven elected District trustees and was charged with working with the hospital to arrive at a fair amount for indigent care reimbursement. Over the past few months, he frequently described the negotiations as “frustrating” because the hospital was so slow to budge from its original position.
After dinner Tuesday, Smith apparently had a massive heart attack or stroke while driving home to Island Club.
His 2011 Jaguar veered across the opposing lane just north of Bahia Mar Rd. and A1A. The vehicle stopped when it slammed into the concrete base of a utility pole and a roadside berm.
Smith and his late wife, Veronica, retired to Vero Beach about 15 years ago. Smith, who grew up in England, had been a financial expert and senior manager for the global corporation Transamerica, based in San Francisco with offices in White Plains, NY, where Smith worked.
In Vero, he became an active volunteer for environmental and homeless causes before running for the Hospital District and becoming its treasurer.
Smith’s first wife died about 10 years ago and he met Jerri McPherson, a campus president of Florida Atlantic University, about five years ago. They married in late 2012.
