The Port St. Lucie man who drove an off-road style vehicle in a fatal crash on Thanksgiving Day in 2025 has been arrested after a police investigation.
Ryan Joseph Burdick, 24, turned himself in to the St. Lucie County Jail on May 18 after a warrant had been issued for his arrest on charges of DUI manslaughter causing death to a human, DUI with a blood alcohol level of .15 or higher and failure to register a motor vehicle, according to a Port St. Lucie police news release.
The crash occurred just before 10 p.m. Nov. 27, 2025, between the off-road vehicle, a 2023 Honda SXS520 not designed or registered for roadway use, and a blue Cadillac XT4 SUV at Southeast Port St. Lucie Boulevard and Southeast Glover Street, according to the release.
The off-road vehicle was traveling east on Port St. Lucie Boulevard and turned left to travel north on Glover Street, according to the release. At the same time, it crossed in front of the SUV, which was traveling west. The SUV hit the passenger side of the off-road vehicle, causing significant damage to both.
Officers and St. Lucie County Fire District crews went to the crash and found the two occupants of the off-road vehicle unresponsive, according to the release. The driver, Burdick, was in the vehicle while the passenger, 46-year-old Riley Welchance, was ejected and found on the sidewalk near the driver’s side of the SUV.
They both were taken to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, where Welchance died later that night, according to the release. Burdick had sustained serious, life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the SUV, 38-year-old Amy Storer, sustained minor injuries while the front-seat passenger, 43-year-old Carlos Martinez-Torres, wasn’t injured, according to the release.
Multiple alcoholic beverage containers were scattered along the roadway and collected as evidence at the scene, according to the release. Multiple independent witnesses confirmed the sequence of events.
Surveillance video obtained from the Circle K gas station at 400 SW Port St. Lucie Blvd. showed Burdick before the crash buying multiple cases of alcoholic beverages and stumbling while inside the store, according to the release. Additional video evidence captured the crash sequence.
A blood sample obtained the night of the crash showed Burdick’s blood alcohol concentration to be about .213, which is more than two times the legal limit of .08, according to the release.
Burdick remained in the St. Lucie County Jail on May 18 with an $81,000 bail, according to the release.
Laurie K. Blandford is a breaking news reporter with TCPalm. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida man driving off-road vehicle arrested after 2025 fatal crash
Reporting by Laurie K. Blandford, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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