Oct. 8 memorial set for victim of Delray crash
B OY N TO N B E AC H — F u n e r a l arrangements are set for 82-yearold J. Gerald Smith, killed in a fatal wreck in downtown Delray Beach last week that sparked an outpouring of support from the community and a state investigation into the intersection where it happened.
The service is planned for Oct. 8 at Boynton Memorial Chapel, on Boynton Beach Boulevard at Old Boynton Road. The family will receive guests from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Community members are welcome to pay their respects, said Tracy Fazio, Smith’s daughter-in-law. A 30-minute service will take place at 10:30 a.m. Smith was cremated.
The service is being paid for using an “overwhelming” amount of donations to an online fundraiser created by the family, Fazio said. More than $9,000 was raised following the Sept. 21 crash.
“Lisa (Smith, Gerald’s wife) had no idea how much of an impact that this would have on the community,” Fazio said Thursday. “Gerald was a very sweet person, and more than willing to help total strangers. It’s been just incredible to hear from everybody.”
The wreck, which involved a speeding Lamborghini that struck Smith’s Buick at Federal Highway and Northeast First Street, is still under investigation, Delray Beach police said Thursday.
Health mogul Roger Wittenberns, who drove the Lamborghini, is in fair condition at Delray Medical Center, where he has been since the crash, hospital officials said. Wittenberns and his girlfriend, Patty Ann McQuiggin, who drove a Porsche alongside Wittenberns’ Lamborghini at the time of the crash, both were eating and drinking downtown before the wreck, Wittenberns told police.
The intersection has been the site of 40 traffic crashes since June 2011, when Delray Beach police began keeping digital records, according to records obtained by The Palm Beach Post. The wreck prompted a Florida Department of Transportation probe into whether the intersection needs a traffic light. FDOT will study traffic patterns and come up with a conclusion within one month, officials say.