ST. LOUIS – Daniel Riley, the St. Louis man who caused a February 2023 crash that cost an out-of-town teenager her legs, has been sentenced.
Riley was found guilty on March 7 of second-degree assault, fourth-degree assault, armed criminal action, and operating a vehicle without a valid license. Jurors had recommended a sentence of nearly 19 years in prison.
The victim, Janae Edmondson, was in town with her parents in February 2023 to compete in a volleyball tournament. They were walking in downtown St. Louis when Riley’s SUV struck Janae and pinned her against a parked car.
Riley had been speeding in the moments before the crash. Prosecutors claim that as Riley sped past a yield sign at the intersection at St. Charles and North 11th streets, a Chevy Malibu hit Riley’s SUV, sending the SUV airborne and into Janae.
An accident reconstruction expert testified during Riley’s trial that the driver of the Malibu had no time to react.
Riley did not testify during the trial.
Riley was out on bond at the time of the crash in a pending robbery case, even though he had violated the conditions of his release many times.
Riley’s attorney filed for a retrial on April 3, alleging the St. Louis Circuit Court committed multiple legal errors against his client. Chief among them was allowing Edmondson to enter the court without her prosthetics and using a wheelchair to show the court the life-altering results of the crash. Diemer accused the court of condoning a “gorefest” by allowing Janae to not wear her prosthetic legs in front of the jury, along with using gruesome photos of the aftermath, and testimony describing Janae’s medical recovery.
