Teen who lost both her legs in horrific crash graduates high school
ST. LOUIS (KMOV/Gray News) – A teenager who lost both her legs after she was hit by a car in February has now graduated high school.
Janae Edmondson, a 17-year-old from Tennessee, was visiting St. Louis for a volleyball tournament on Feb. 18 when she was hit by a car while walking on a sidewalk.
Her father said one of his daughter’s legs had been immediately severed and the other was only partially attached. He said he recalled his first aid training from the military and started gathering belts from eyewitnesses to use as tourniquets.
Edmondson underwent multiple surgeries and lost both her legs.
While her days are still filled with doctor appointments and rehabilitation, she attended her senior prom at the end of April, and she graduated high school last weekend.
Her family shared updates to a GoFundMe page.
“Through all of this, she has fought hard to do the things she originally set out to do this senior year,” her mother wrote in an update. “These moments help us to keep stepping forward, but the road is still really hard each day.”
Edmondson plans to attend Middle Tennessee State in the fall. The school will be honoring the athletic scholarship it extended to her before the crash.
The driver who hit Edmondson was identified as 21-year-old Daniel Riley. Last month, he pleaded not guilty to three counts of assault and driving without a license.
Officials said Riley was out on bond at the time of the crash on a robbery charge, and he was not supposed to be driving because he did not have a valid license.
Officials also said Riley was under house arrest and had violated the conditions of his bond more than 100 times.
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