POUGHKEEPSIE – Thirty-three-year-old Ryan Floryan was released from state prison on December 19, according to his mother, Carlissa Stratford. Floryan had been in prison since September of 2013 on a manslaughter conviction after he caused the deaths of Shawn and Patricia Wonderly in 2012.
Floryan, who had previously spent time in prison for an attempted robbery conviction, was attempting to avoid police when he sped down the eastbound arterial, slamming into a minivan operated by 37-year-old Shawn Wonderly. Wonderly and his wife Patricia, a passenger in the van were killed. Their young daughter and son, who were also passengers in the vehicle, were immediately orphaned after Floryan ran a red light, striking the van, and killing the two adults.
Floryan was sentenced to 6.5 years to 13 years in prison. The manslaughter sentences, under state law, required the sentences to run concurrently, or at the same time. That requirement infuriated state lawmakers who began working to change the law. The repeated attempts to get the law changed have been unsuccessful.
Floryan, Mrs. Stratford said, was released to a shelter on the same road as the Wallkill Correctional Facility, where he was serving the remainder of his sentence. The convict had been denied parole in April of 2022 due to his illegal activities while imprisoned at the Fishkill Correctional Facility.
Mrs. Stratford advised Mid-Hudson News on Monday evening that her son had been released. New York State Department of Corrections records indicates that Floryan is still in prison.
