SMYRNA, Tenn. (WTVF) — Gut-wrenching testimony emerged Thursday in a St. Louis courtroom from Janae Edmondson and her mother, Francine.
The recent Smyrna High School grad lost her legs in a crash while at a volleyball tournament last year. Police believed Daniel Riley, 21, caused the unthinkable accident, which cost the then 17-year-old both of her legs.
According to police, a driver going 45 mph drove through a yield sign and struck a car and that car hit Janae who was walking.
"I turned around, and I looked. She was on the ground face down and her leg was amputated all the way gone and the other one I saw — it was barely hanging on," said Francine Edmondson, Janae's mom.
Janae fought back tears while she spoke about recovering in a hospital room. In the two weeks after the crash on Feb. 18, 2023, she had 23 surgeries.
"I started to get depressed a lot because I was questioning why this had happened to me," Janae Edmondson said. "I'm a very active person so being trapped or feeling trapped and not being able to go out and even go outside I just became depressed."
Riley is facing several charges in this case, including second-degree assault and armed criminal action. According to police testimony, he had multiple drugs in his system, including fentanyl.
Her mother described watching her baby get whisked off by an ambulance.
"I just started screaming as loud as I could I was just so hurt. I felt like my soul was ripped out of me," Francine said.
This afternoon the prosecution and defense gave closing arguments. Right now, the jury is going back through the last three days of testimony to reach a verdict.
We will report when a verdict is reached.
This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys - young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team's success has stolen the spotlight - what I love about Steve Layman's story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, "we all have scuff marks." This team proves perseverance pays off!
- Carrie Sharp
