The driver who hit a 17-year-old girl, Janae Edmondson, and pinned her between two vehicles was found guilty Thursday, according to a news conference Friday by the St. Louis County District Attorney. by Louis Gabriel E. Gore.
Daniel Riley, 22, was convicted of second-degree assault, armed criminal action, fourth-degree assault and driving without a valid license, the Associated Press reports. The jury recommended that Riley serve 18 years and nine months in prison, reports First Alert 4. He will be sentenced on April 18.
Before the February 2023 crash, Riley was on the loose after being suspected of armed robbery, although he had violated the terms of his release more than 40 times, KSDK reported.
After the accident, Edmondson had both legs amputated. Riley hit her with a 2023 Audi Q5 after going through a yield sign at 11th and St. Charles in St. Louis, Mo. The teenager was visiting from Tennessee for a volleyball tournament when the accident happened.
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Daniel Riley.
KSDK News/Youtube
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Edmondson and her family were walking to a hotel when Riley’s car hit her, according to a statement shared on Edmondson’s Mid TN Volleyball Club’s GoFundMe campaign for her.
The teenage girl’s father, a veteran, told during the trial that he used his belt to make a tourniquet when he saw her severed legs and before the ambulance arrived, reports First Alert 4.
During the trial, she explained that she talked to her parents in the ambulance. “I talked to them and said, ‘My mom told me not to close my eyes. I’ve got to stay awake,’ and I was just sitting there looking up and repeating that to myself,” the teenager recalled, according to First Alert 4.
She was then rushed to a nearby hospital with her parents, James and Francine Edmondson, by her side, according to the GoFundMe description.
She suffered internal injuries and a fractured pelvis. Since the accident, Edmondson has had 29 surgeries, 23 of which occurred in the two weeks after the accident, reports First Alert 4. She is expected to have more surgeries in the future.
During her victim impact statement, the teenager thanked her parents for saving her life and said the tragedy “taught her” “how to be tough and resilient, through adversity, and be strong.”
“Although this tragedy has severely affected my life, I will not let it define who I am and what I bring to this world,” she said.
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Janae Edmonson.
KSDK News/Youtube
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Along with Riley’s conviction, the Edmondson family is suing him and the city of St. Louis.
The family is suing the city after Riley was found to have violated his bond over 40 times and remained at large.
This led to efforts to remove the then church of St. Louisa County District Attorney Kim Gardner’s office. At first, Gardner fought the effort, but three months later she resigned.
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Representatives for the district attorney’s office and Riley’s attorney, Daniel Diemer, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Friday.
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