17-Year-Old Janae Edmonson Lost Her Legs And College Volleyball Career After Felon With 94 Bond Violations Struck Her With His Car
A young athlete's life was ruined forever when a felon, who was driving illegally and recklessly, crashed into her and her legs had to be amputated. 17-year-old Janae Edmondson was on her way to play volleyball in college.
A tragic story has emerged from St. Louis, where a young athlete's future has been ruined due to a criminal being released from jail prematurely. St. Louis is currently ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the world, with the highest murder rate in the whole country. Prosecutors are partly responsible for these statistics because they consistently let off criminals who should be locked up in prison. Janae Edmondson's life has forever been altered because of prosecutor Kim Gardner's soft policies. She was on her way to play volleyball at college until a 21-year-old felon, who has multiple bond violations, crashed into Janae and caused such serious injuries that her legs had to be amputated.
Janae Edmonson Lost Her Legs and Her College Volleyball Career after Felon with 94 Bond Violations Crashed into Her
On February 18, Janae was walking to a hotel in downtown St. Louis with her family when she was suddenly struck by a vehicle that was being driven both illegally and recklessly. Her father made a tourniquet and applied it her legs as they waited for an ambulance to arrive. She was taken to a local hospital, where both of her legs were amputated and she was in critical condition. She has had five surgeries so far, and there will be more in her future. A steel rod is currently holding her pelvis in place. Janae, originally from Smyrna, Tennessee, had just committed to play volleyball at UT Southern the week before. Her future coach says they will still honor her scholarship and allow her to be part of the team.
"This is an honor that she earned. It wasn't that we just gave it out to her to give it to her. She earned it, and she worked for it. So to take something else away from her that doesn't deserve to be taken away from her just didn't seem right in our eyes," UT Southern volleyball coach Tristyn Lozano said.
"Her life has changed, and we are going to need people to love her and support her and support that family as they evolve, and we are just so thankful that she's with us," Jeff Wismer, assistant director of the Mid-TN VBC, said.
Janae was hit by 21-year-old felon named Daniel Riley, who has been arrested and charged with multiple accounts of assault and one count of operating a vehicle without a valid driver's license. He was driving 20 mph over the limit, and according to police, he didn't even try to brake before the crash. He was on house arrest and had a GPS monitoring bracelet on, which was administered after a 2020 arrest for first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. This charge was supposed to go to trial in July 2022, but prosecutors said they weren't ready for the trial, so the charges were dropped and refiled.
Janae's parents appeared in court recently and asked a judge to keep Riley behind bars and reject his motion seeking bond. Riley has violated his GPS monitoring terms multiple times, and he has violated the terms of his bond 94 times in total.
Kim Gardner, circuit attorney for St. Louis, was allegedly appointed after George Soros pumped millions of dollars into her election. She has a history of prosecuting homeowners for self-defense. Gardner fought hard for Riley and did her best to keep him out of jail. She is being called to resign and is blamed for the tragedy that has fallen on Janae and her family. She said her office had verbally asked three times for Riley's bond to be revoked, but a judge either denied or ignored their requests.