PORT ST. LUCIE − A 19-year-old man driving a pickup that crashed last month killing three passengers, traveled about twice the speed limit and had a blood alcohol content about twice the legal limit after the collision with a tree, Acting Port St. Lucie Police Chief Richard Del Toro said Wednesday.
Del Toro shared the details in a briefing to announce the Tuesday arrest of Dylan Ray Boully, of Okeechobee, on three counts each of vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter and single counts each of driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury in connection with the March 15 crash. The crash happened about 11:35 p.m. on Southeast Veterans Memorial Parkway just west of U.S. 1.
Killed were Port St. Lucie residents Leah Herman, 20, and Draiden Frank, 16, andJimmie Brown, 18, of Okeechobee, according to Port St. Lucie Police.Lia Tucker, 17, was injured. Police have said all five in the truck were friends.
“This is a reminder, obviously, of the consequences of driving under the influence,” Del Toro said. “And it's a reminder to everyone in the community that tragedies like this can obviously be prevented and avoided.”
Del Toro said investigators determined the friends were picked up and driven to a store identified in records as the JB Kwik Stop Store in Jensen Beach where a 12-pack of Twisted Tea, an alcoholic beverage, was purchased about 8:06 p.m. According to records, the store is in the 2400 block of Northeast Indian River Drive.
“They then went to the Jensen Beach Causeway, traveled to the Sonic in Jensen Beach and went back to the causeway before finally traveling north on Indian River Drive and westbound on Walton Road,” Del Toro said.
Southeast Walton Road becomes Southeast Veterans Memorial Parkway west of U.S. 1.
Del Toro said the pickup proceeded on Southeast Veterans Memorial Parkway at a “high rate of speed” while negotiating a curve.
It left the roadway and hit a tree at an estimated speed of 75 mph to 82 mph, which is about double the speed limit, Del Toro said.
The three who died were ejected from the pickup, Del Toro said. Police reported just the driver wore a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
Boully and Tucker were taken to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce after the crash.
“Witnesses saw Boully climb out of the driver's side seat following the crash,” Del Toro said. “He advised rescue personnel and hospital staff that he had consumed about four Twisted Tea beverages.”
Boully’s blood alcohol content at the hospital was 0.16 -- twice the 0.08 legal limit to drive, according to Del Toro.
Del Toro said several people went in the store in Jensen Beach to purchase alcohol, and it’s under investigation who purchased it.
“We do know somebody from that group was the one that made the purchase of that alcohol and they've done so several times in the past,” Del Toro said.
He said no one in the group was of the legal age of 21 to purchase alcohol.
Police spoke to Lia, who was critically injured in the incident. She was released from Lawnwood hospital on March 25. She remembered being picked up by Boully, but didn’t remember his name because she didn’t know him that well. She said they bought the 12-pack of Twisted Tea.
“(She) said they always buy alcohol from this establishment, at least once a week,” a warrant affidavit states.
Lia said everyone in the vehicle was drinking Twisted Teas, and that a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, a brand of whiskey, was in the front seat.
“The bottle was next to Leah (Herman), and she said they were all drinking from it including Dylan,” a warrant affidavit states. She didn’t remember what happened to the bottle.
Asked about the amount of time that elapsed between the crash and the arrest, Del Toro said such investigations are complex.
“You're dealing with subpoenas for the blood content, those things just don't come back very quickly, and we want to make sure that we get this right,” Del Toro said. “We want to make sure we're dotting the I's, crossing the T's ... We don't want to see a case lost on a technicality.”
In the days after the incident, Blake Mele, 20, came to the crash scene where large memorials had been erected, and said he knew Herman and Draiden.
He said he met Draiden about 2½ years ago at a show truck event in Jensen Beach, and met Herman as they attended Fort Pierce Central High School.
Mele said at the time of the crash they were coming from the Jensen Beach Causeway and were heading to pick up Draiden’s dog from Draiden's best friend’s house.
Mele remarked that 200 to 250 people attended a memorial event at the scene after the crash.
“At first, it didn't feel real. And then after last night (March 17), especially when we did a memorial for them down here, I think that's when it settled in for a lot of people, and that's when it became real for a lot of people,” Mele said. “It's just a hard thing to deal with.”
Boully is in the Okeechobee County Jail on $320,000 bail.
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Will Greenleeis a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X@OffTheBeatTweetor reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him atwill.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
