ST. LOUIS – Seeking justice for Janae Edmondson, the teenager who lost her legs in a St. Louis crash last year, the court case starts Friday against driver Daniel Riley.
Jury selection is set to start inside the courthouse in a matter of hours. The trial is taking place in Division 22, with Judge Michael Noble presiding over the very high-profile case.
Riley’s facing five counts, including three assault charges, an armed criminal action charge, and a count of driving without a license. Janae was in St. Louis from Tennessee for a volleyball tournament and was walking with her family when the crash happened on February 18 of last year. Jenae was 17 years old at the time.
Authorities said that Riley was speeding on St. Charles Street when he failed to yield at the intersection of St. Charles and North 11th Street, hitting another car and a parked vehicle. Jenae was pinned between two of the cars; both of her legs had to be amputated. At the time of the crash, Riley was 21 years old and was out on bond in a pending robbery case, despite violating the conditions of his release many times.
Judge Noble explained recently that potential jurors will be required to fill out a questionnaire focusing on their knowledge about this case. Noble says those questionnaires are designed to help weed out people who may have already made up their minds about Riley’s guilt or innocence.
Jury selection is expected to continue into Monday, with actual testimony expected to get underway next Tuesday, March 5. Authorities think the trial will last 3 days.
There will be a camera in the courtroom. FOX 2 will update these stories with more information as it becomes available.
