Palm Bay man killed in off-road Polk County crash

Update, 9:04 p.m. Monday:

A 22-year-old Palm Bay man was killed Sunday after falling off a pickup truck along a muddy trail and attempting to push a friend out of the way, Polk County sheriff's investigators report.

The accident happened about 1:40 p.m. Sunday at the Triple Canopy Ranch, a 500-acre off-road site at 16950 CR 630A, in Frostproof.

Authorities said the man, identified as Anthony "Potter" Veloce, was one of several people ejected from the 2002 Chevrolet S2500 pickup as it plowed through a muddy bog.

The pickup truck was driven by 19-year-old Jimmie Yunck Jr., of Loxahatchee, investigators report.

Wood said Veloce was able to protect a 21-year-old woman, also a passenger in the pickup bed, from being crushed by the pickup's wheels, even as he was falling. Both had been sitting on top of a tool box in the truck bed without any harnesses, investigators report.

"They were riding through a mud hole in an off-road area," said Donna Wood, a spokeswoman for the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

"They both fell out on the driver's side. Somehow he was able to push her out of the way. Veloce, who was run over by the rear tire, taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. The woman suffered bruises and cuts but was released from the hospital.

Polk County authorities say speed was not a factor.

Triple Canopy Ranch is a business where visitors pay an admission price to get onto the land for off-road driving, concerts and truck shows. Family members are raising funds to cover the funeral costs for Veloce, a one-time Bayside High School student. He was not insured, said his mother, Kimberly Veloce.

An investigation is ongoing.