SANFORD, Fla. -- A beloved journalism instructor is being mourned as an investigation continues into her death days after she may have been hit by a trailer while walking in rural Volusia County.
- Meredith Cochie Ross died at a Sanford hospital June 13
- Friends, family raised $20K in 2 Days for son, husband
- Troopers are investigating what happened to journalist
Meredith Cochie Ross, 36, died at 6:21 p.m. June 13 at Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford, according to Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes.
The Full Sail University instructor with a bubbly personality was hospitalized June 10.
A Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputy found her in a dry ditch off Maytown Road near Gobbler’s Lodge Road.
The deputy said she was conscious when she was found at 5:30 a.m. She was transported to the hospital in stable condition, Montes said. She remained that way until her death.
“She was conscious the whole time,” Montes said.
A University of Florida graduate, Ross may have sustained a glancing blow from an eastbound trailer hauling a boat.
Or she may have been hit by a pole on the trailer.
The driver is cooperating with FHP. But her cause of death has not been determined.
As investigators continue to piece together what happened to Ross, her friends recently wrapped up a social-media campaign to help her 6-year-old son, Everett, and husband Erikk Ross, raising $20,000 for them in 48 hours.
The rapid outpouring of support is a testament “of how incredible she was, and how many lives she impacted in her short time here,” long-time friend Trisha Morone told Spectrum News on Facebook.
Another friend and Erikk Ross set up an online tribute.
It describes Ross as a "bright light that filled every room she entered. Her contagious laughter and witty humor were eclipsed only by her tremendous capacity for caring for those around her."
She graduated UF with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2006. Ross earned a master’s degree from UF in mass communication in 2008.
"We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Meredith Cochie Ross. She was an outstanding student - a two-time recipient of the Carl Hiaasen Scholarship and won the Dean’s Cup for Service in 2006. Our condolences to family and friends," UF's journalism school said on Twitter.
She graduated from Lemon Bay High in Englewood, a city of roughly 15,000 in Charlotte County on Florida's west coast. For six years before attending UF, she worked for Sun Coast Media Group, the family owned publisher of her hometown newspaper, as a reporter, copy editor and page designer.
She worked at Full Sail for nearly 10 years.
"I developed the course curriculum, learning materials and program threading for both the New Media Journalism and Public Relations degrees," she said on her Linkedin profile. "I especially enjoy getting people in rooms who aren't normally in rooms together and making stuff for the good of the university, including large-scale projects and events, workshops, new systems processes, guest lectures, and coaching activities."
Full Sail University President Garry Jones praised her in a statement to Spectrum News.
“On behalf of Full Sail University, we were heartbroken following the tragic loss of our friend, colleague and valued member of our faculty family, Meredith Cochie Ross,” Jones said. “Meredith’s passion for education was boundless, and her time with us has left a lasting impact within our student, staff and alumni communities. She is, and will continue to be, deeply missed. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her husband, son and family during this most difficult time.”
She called herself a "Turbo Media Prof," a "Story Extractor," and a "Funseeker."
Investigators don’t know why she was on Maytown Road.
A driver who was hauling a boat eastbound on Maytown Road that morning stepped forward after realizing he may have been involved, though it’s unclear how.
The driver, a boat captain, noticed one of two PVC poles on his trailer was missing while he was putting the boat in the water.
FHP said he immediately contacted officials because he remembered passing a woman on Maytown Road.
He told investigators she was on the side of the road -- not on it -- but he swerved anyway to give her plenty of space on the narrow, two-lane roadway.
The boat captain told investigators he didn’t think he hit her. He didn’t feel a bump and thought everything was fine until he later noticed the missing pole.
Montes said FHP is looking into the possibility she somehow suddenly got close to the trailer and suffered a glancing blow, either from the trailer or the pole or possibly both.
FHP won’t know more until the Medical Examiner’s Office makes a determination on the cause and manner of death.
The ME’s findings and a toxicology report are pending.
The FHP is also aware Ross was briefly reported missing in New Smyrna Beach last week.
Friends told police she was last seen at 8 a.m. June 9 in the area of Washington and Faulkner streets.
New Smyrna Beach entered her into a database of missing people on June 12 and asked for the public’s help to find her. Minutes later, they announced she was found, though no details were released.
Police found out she was involved in some sort of crash outside of the city within the jurisdiction of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, said New Smyrna Beach Police Lt. Chris Kirk.
“As far as I know, she was alive when located, and died at the hospital some time later, but I’m not sure of those facts as our agency was not involved in that investigation,” Kirk said, adding that FHP was the agency in charge of the investigation.
Montes, with FHP, said even though Ross died June 13, the hospital didn’t notify troopers until the next day.
Friends and family are expected to hold a service for her in a few weeks.
"We will be streaming the memorial so everyone can attend online," the tribute site says.