Alleged drunk driver charged in crash that killed Twin Cities restaurant founder
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A longtime owner of several Twin Cities restaurants was killed in a motorcycle crash Sunday in western Wisconsin.
David Burley, 58, was a founder and co-owner of the Blue Plate restaurant group, which includes Groveland Tap, Highland Grill, the Lowry and several other locations around the Twin Cities metro.
The Wisconsin State Patrol reported the crash happened along Interstate 94 near Hudson just before 3 p.m. Sunday. Authorities said a car was trying to pass traffic on the right shoulder when it clipped a guardrail and veered back into the right lane. It hit Burley’s motorcycle, sending both vehicles crashing into the concrete median.
Burley was taken to Regions Hospital where he later died. The driver of the car, Andre Lamont Mathews of Brooklyn Park, sustained unspecified non-life-threatening injuries. St. Croix County prosecutors on Monday charged Mathews, 33, with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.
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According to the criminal complaint, a Wisconsin trooper who met with Mathews at the hospital said that he could smell alcohol on Mathews, who “appeared to be disoriented and lethargic.”
“Mathews was not answering questions appropriately and stated he did not know where he was or if he was driving,” according to Trooper Timothy Strohbusch, whose affidavit is included in the complaint.
Strohbusch added that he got a warrant to collect a sample of Mathews’ blood for alcohol testing after Mathews refused to give a sample voluntarily. The complaint does not include Mathews’ suspected blood alcohol level.
In a social media post, Blue Plate restaurant staff called Burley’s death an overwhelming loss.
“David was the heart and soul of Blue Plate — a visionary leader and a joyful, generous spirit who made everyone feel welcome,” they wrote.
Stephanie Shimp, Burley’s Blue Plate co-founder and former wife, called his death heartbreaking.
“Losing him so suddenly is overwhelming — a painful shock that has left me and our entire Blue Plate family grieving a loss too deep for words,” Shimp said in a statement. “David’s passion and kindness were the foundation of everything we built together. We will profoundly miss his spirit, energy, and irreplaceable presence."
In the wake of Burley’s death, Blue Plate staff said the restaurants are closed Monday.
The Blue Plate restaurant group started with the Highland Grill, which opened in 1993. It later expanded to include other restaurants in the Twin Cities, as well as The Blue Barn food stand at the Minnesota State Fair.
Mathews, the other driver in the crash, is charged as a repeat offender. In 2018, Mathews received a three-year sentence after pleading guilty to fifth-degree drug possession in Minnesota.
According to the criminal complaint in that case, a police officer pulled over Mathews’ car and found an open bottle of brandy and a handgun inside the vehicle. As Matthews was being transported to the Hennepin County Jail, police recovered a half gram of crack cocaine after an officer spotted Mathews grinding it into the floor of the squad car.
As a teen, Mathews was convicted of armed robbery in Kankakee County, Ill., and is prohibited from possessing firearms.