By Will Van Sant
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Copyright 2007 Times Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
Gary Vickers faced hurricanes and wildfires for a living, but he could not overcome injuries that left him hospitalized after a mid February auto accident.
The Pinellas County emergency management director died at 3 p.m. Monday (March 19, 2007) at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, three hours after his family made the decision to remove him from life support. He was 53.
“He was totally committed to his task and he provided superb leadership whenever the county needed it,” said County Commissioner Bob Stewart. “It will be a very difficult assignment to replace him.”
In the days after his accident, Mr. Vickers was able to speak and county leaders said they believed he faced a difficult recovery but would survive.
He was placed in an induced coma, according to county officials, and there was evidence that progress was being made. However, brain tests done over the weekend showed Mr. Vickers had slipped into a vegetative state and would not rebound.
Mr. Vickers was at the wheel of his personal sedan on the night of Feb. 13, heading to his Clearwater apartment on a wet Countryside Boulevard after having visited a daughter.
About 10:30 p.m., just south of State Road 580, Mr. Vickers lost control of his car and struck a tree. He suffered a fractured neck, broken clavicle and sternum and a bruised heart.
Clearwater police say rescue personnel at the scene told their investigators that Mr. Vickers’ blood sugar was very low and that the wreck was likely the result of a diabetic emergency.
An investigation into the accident concluded that a pre-existing medical condition probably caused the crash and there was no evidence that alcohol played a role. With Mr. Vickers having died, the investigation will reopen, but police expect to confirm their earlier findings.
Mr. Vickers was a native Floridian, born and raised in Indian River County. He moved to Pinellas in 1975 to pursue a career in public safety and took a job as an emergency medical technician with a local ambulance company.
In 1988, he joined the county emergency management department and worked his way up, becoming director in 2002.
County Commissioner Susan Latvala was the board’s chairwoman during the busy 2004 hurricane season. “He just had a calm, authoritative voice during that horrible year,” she said, “and he was able to give our citizens some comfort.”
County Administrator Steve Spratt worked closely with Mr. Vickers when storms threatened.
“He was extremely competent, extremely cool under pressure, very knowledgeable about his subject matter and tremendously easygoing with people,” Spratt said.
Since Mr. Vickers’ accident, his second in command, 43-year-old Sally Bishop, has been the emergency management department’s acting director. Spratt said he was unsure whether Bishop would take over Mr. Vickers’ post, or whether a replacement would be found before the 2007 storm season begins June 1.
Among Mr. Vickers’ survivors are his three daughters: Breena , 23, and Brogan , 16, both of Oldsmar, and Beleek , 19, of Orlando. “He was a devoted dad,” said Mr. Vickers’ ex-wife Maureen, 50, who lives in Oldsmar. “He loved the girls and had a great relationship with all of them.”