An 18-year-old girl from Tennessee has sued the city of St. Louis after she had both legs amputated after being struck by a car in an accident police said was caused in part by a man out on bond.
Janae Edmondson, a high school volleyball player competing in a tournament in St. Louis, was pinned between two cars in February, causing her to lose both legs. According to the police, Daniel Riley, a 21-year-old man who was out on bond for an armed robbery case, was driving a vehicle that slammed into another car that struck Edmondson.
Edmondson “had her bright future brutally ripped away when she was crushed between two vehicles following a car crash, leading to amputation of both her legs. The crash, involving a robbery suspect who had violated the terms of his bond dozens of times over several months, was completely preventable,” the lawsuit says.
The ordeal brought waves of negative publicity and eventually, among other incidents, led to the resignation of St. Louis' top prosecutor, Kim Gardner. Now, Janae Edmondson is seeking damages from the city, as she accuses the government of negligence. https://t.co/07S87qImqU
— St. Louis Business Journal (@stlouisbiz) June 22, 2023
Defendants in the case include St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, Riley, and the other driver involved.
This is Daniel Riley, the man accused of causing a crash in downtown St. Louis that severely injured a young volleyball player. #News4Investigates is digging into his background and learning he never should have been driving. More on @KMOV at 6 pic.twitter.com/MMoxEgmGPl
— Susan El Khoury (@SusanElKhoury) February 21, 2023
According to the lawsuit, Riley violated the terms of his bond by allowing the battery on the GPS tracker monitoring him to die and leaving house arrest over 50 times, all without having his bond revoked.
The robbery charge for Riley stemmed from an incident in 2020, and the case is still ongoing. Kim Gardner, St. Louis’s former far-Left prosecutor, came under fire for Riley being out of jail.
Riley has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the crash and still faces the armed robbery case.
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Both drivers involved in the accident, Riley and Elizabeth Smith, were driving without or with suspended driver’s licenses and were speeding, the lawsuit alleges. Edmondson also says that the city bears responsibility for the dangerous roadway where the accident occurred.
Edmondson, who barely survived the accident and was in the hospital for 40 days, had been accepted into the University of Tennessee Southern to play volleyball. Afterward, Edmondson was given a partial scholarship to Middle Tennessee State University to help manage the volleyball program.
A GoFundMe started by Edmondson’s family has raised more than $800,000 for Edmondson, who lives in Smyrna, Tennessee.
“[Edmondson] joined Planet Fitness (to help her get even stronger for prosthetics, coming soon we hope) and she got to throw out the first pitch at the Sounds game in Nashville. Blessed for her strength! Blessed for our community! Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support,” the most recent update from the family says.