ST. LOUIS, MO (April 18, 2024) — Judge Michael W. Noble today sentenced Daniel Riley, 22, to 18 years and nine months in prison for causing a car crash downtown last year that severed the legs of 17-year-old Janae Edmondson. Edmondson was a high school student from Tennessee who had come to St. Louis to compete in a volleyball tournament.

Judge Noble followed the sentencing recommendation made by the jury at the time of its guilty verdict on March 7, 2024. Noble sentenced Riley to six years and three months in prison for second-degree assault, 11 years and eight months in prison for armed criminal action, and ten months in the City Justice Center for fourth-degree assault. Judge Noble imposed the maximum fine of $500 on Riley for driving without a license. The judge also denied a motion by Riley’s attorney for a new trial.

Janae Edmondson and her parents were present at the sentencing. Her mother, Marilyn “Francine” Edmondson, read an emotional victim impact statement, praising her daughter’s “resilience, compassion, and determination” in the face of enormous physical and psychological pain.

At the time of the crash, Riley was out on bond for a pending robbery case. Toxicology tests taken at the hospital after the crash showed that he had fentanyl, codeine, and THC in his system the night of the crash. He was driving without a license.

Edmondson and her parents had been walking back to their car parked on St. Charles Street on their way to dinner after she competed in a volleyball game at The Dome on Feb. 18, 2023. Riley was speeding westbound on St. Charles St. in an Audi, failed to yield at the intersection of St. Charles, and North 11th streets and collided with a Chevy Malibu. The collision sent the Audi into the air. It landed on a parked car, pinning Janae between the two vehicles.

In addition to losing both legs, Edmondson suffered serious internal injuries requiring multiple surgeries. Using a bystander’s belt, Edmondson’s father, James, saved his daughter’s life by applying applied a tourniquet to her legs to prevent from bleeding to death before paramedics arrived. The two women in the Malibu, driver Elizabeth Smith and passenger Markiyah Gorman, suffered minor injuries.

 “As Judge Noble stated, this sentence reflects the careful deliberation of the jury and the judgment of the community,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “Although it does not ease the suffering the Edmondson family has endured, Daniel Riley’s sentence sends a clear message that reckless driving will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Riley’s case was prosecuted by Assistant Circuit Attorney Tanja Engelhardt, Violent Crime Unit Supervisor, and Assistant Circuit Attorney Adam Field.

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