NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The man responsible for a crash that caused Smyrna teen Janae Edmondson to lose her legs is heading to prison for a long time to pay for his crime.
The judge sentenced Daniel Riley to nearly 19 years in prison.
Janae and her parents were at the sentencing Thursday, and her mother, Francine spoke in the courtroom.
"On that day, Daniel Riley chose to focus on his own personal satisfaction rather than showing consideration for humanity as he drove down the street," said Francine Edmondson. "On that night, Janae endured so much physical trauma. She was second from dying right there in front of us on the street. Her legs were completely severed and she was bleeding out, but she fought, and we fought. Her will to live is far greater than what Daniel Riley could do to her."
Riley was convicted of second-degree assault, driving without a valid license, armed criminal action, and misdemeanor assault in a jury trial last month.
The jury recommended he receive the maximum sentence for each charge. He was sentenced to 18 years and 9 months.
Riley was violating the conditions of his house arrest for a different charge when he crashed into Janae while she and her family were in town for a volleyball tournament last year.
He ran through a yield sign and pinned her against another parked vehicle.
Since the trial, Janae has been fitted with new prosthetics and was wearing them at the sentencing.
The Edmondsons have a civil lawsuit against the city of St. Louis and that trial will begin next March. The family argues the yield sign at the intersection where the crash happened in downtown St. Louis should have been a stop sign.
The city has changed it to a stop sign since the crash.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
