Man convicted in hit-and-run that caused teen volleyball player to lose her legs

ST. LOUIS (KMOV/Gray News) – A jury convicted the driver in a hit-and-run that resulted in a teenage volleyball player losing both her legs.

A St. Louis jury found Daniel Riley guilty of four charges Thursday and recommended he be sentenced for nearly 19 years.

Janae Edmondson, who was 17 at the time of the crash, was visiting St. Louis for a volleyball tournament on Feb. 18, 2023, when she was hit by a car driven by Riley while she was walking on the sidewalk. She was left pinned between his car and a parked vehicle.

Both of her legs were amputated as a result of the crash.

The jury found Riley guilty of second-degree assault, armed criminal action, fourth-degree assault and operating a vehicle on a highway without a valid license. He was found not guilty of one misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault concerning a passenger in another vehicle being injured.

On the first day of testimony, jurors heard from James Edmondson who recalled hearing a car speeding up, something prosecutors said was Riley going through a yield sign. He said that after the crash, one of her daughter’s legs had been immediately severed and the other one was partially attached.

“I turned to my right to grab Janae. I looked down at her and she was yelling, ‘Dad! I can’t feel my legs! I can’t feel my legs!” James Edmonson said.

James said he recalled his first aid training from the military and used a bystander’s belt to help save his daughter’s life.

“He just reached down with his belt ... I don’t know who that is, I want to tell him how much I appreciate him giving me this belt because it saved my daughter’s life,” James Edmondson said. “I’m still trying to find out who he was.”

On the final day of the trial, Janae Edmonson took the witness stand and recounted what she shared with those who were inside the responding ambulance.

“I was talking to them and saying, ‘My mom said don’t close my eyes. I have to stay awake,’ and I was just sitting there, looking up, repeating that to myself,” she said.

She also shared her healing process with the jury.

“It was just awful. I had stabbing pain all throughout my legs. I was numb majority of the time that I was in the hospital and even coming out, even now, my legs are still numb in places, and I can’t feel anything,” she said. “It was stabbing pain down my back, in my hips, in my legs. I just couldn’t deal with it anymore.”

Janae has undergone 29 surgeries, 23 of which took place in St. Louis within two weeks after the crash. She has since been fitted with prosthetics.

During the trial, jurors also heard from St. Louis police officers who described Riley’s demeanor after the crash as nonchalant. Prosecutors also showed the jury the blood test kit they said found THC, codeine and fentanyl in Riley’s system.

“Daniel Riley showed complete disregard for human life in the decisions he made to get behind the wheel of a car without a driver’s license and recklessly ignore the speed limit and traffic signs,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “His choices had catastrophic consequences for Janae Edmondson and her family. While this verdict will not restore their loss, it will hold Riley accountable.”

Jurors recommended that Riley serve six years and three months for second-degree assault, 11 years and eight months for armed criminal action and 10 months for fourth-degree assault, a total of 18 years and nine months. Riley will serve the 10-month fourth-degree assault charge in the City Justice Center. The rest of his sentence will be served in prison.

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