Teenage volleyball player Janae Edmondson gives her victim impact statement in the penalty聽phase of Daniel Riley's trial Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Carnahan Courthouse in downtown 最新杏吧原创.聽Riley was convicted of causing a crash last February that severely injured Edmondson in downtown 最新杏吧原创.聽
ST. LOUIS 鈥 The city of 最新杏吧原创 is set to pay a teen from Tennessee $450,000 to settle a lawsuit claiming insufficient traffic signs downtown were to blame for a crash that severed both of her legs.
Janae Edmondson鈥檚 settlement with the city 鈥 which is close to the maximum amount of damages allowable for such lawsuits under state law 鈥 marks the end of legal claims from the February 2023 crash that sparked public outrage and ignited efforts to remove the city鈥檚 prosecutor. The case was set for trial next month.
鈥淲e鈥檙e relieved that we were finally able to resolve this with the City,鈥 the Edmondson family said in a statement. 鈥淕iven the multiple levels of failure by this City to not only keep this intersection safe, but to keep the criminal who did this to our daughter off the streets, we鈥檙e still disappointed that it took this long for the City to step up and do the right thing.鈥
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On Feb. 18, 2023, Edmondson left a volleyball tournament at the downtown convention center, and was headed to her family鈥檚 car when an Audi SUV emerged from St. Charles Street, sped through a yield sign, collided with a Chevrolet Malibu traveling north on 11th Street, and then hit Edmondson.
The driver, Daniel Riley, was out on bond in a pending robbery case despite violating bond conditions multiple times.
The crash sparked outrage and calls for former 最新杏吧原创 Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner鈥檚 resignation. Dysfunction in Gardner鈥檚 office was widely blamed for allowing Riley to remain free. She later resigned.
Edmondson鈥檚 family filed a lawsuit in June against the city, the driver of the Malibu, Riley and his mother, who rented the SUV he was driving that night.
The suit blamed the city for failing to maintain a safe intersection at St. Charles and 11th because there was a yield sign and not a full stop sign.
Evidence presented in Riley鈥檚 criminal trial showed that drivers on 11th couldn鈥檛 see oncoming traffic until it鈥檚 too late. Buildings were in the way.
The suit also blamed Riley for driving recklessly and without a license. The driver of the Malibu was also driving without a valid license.
Those claims, however, were eventually dropped.
The trial in the suit was set to begin March 3. Instead, this week, the city and Edmondson reached an agreement to settle.
State law caps damages for such personal injury lawsuits at $517,316. Edmondson鈥檚 lawyer, Kevin Carnie of , said they decided to settle for roughly $67,000 less than that because of the cost of trial and trauma of recounting the crash.
Still, Carnie said, Edmondson鈥檚 case is an example of a need for change. She will need expensive prosthetics and maintenance for the rest of her life.
鈥淛anae deserves to be compensated appropriately for her injuries 鈥 a one-size-fits all damages cap doesn鈥檛 come anywhere close to fairly compensating her,鈥 he said.
A spokesman for the city declined comment.
Daniel Riley enters the courtroom before his sentencing hearing Thursday, April 18, 2024, at the Carnahan Courthouse in downtown 最新杏吧原创. Riley was convicted of causing a crash in February 2023 that severely injured teenage volleyball player Janae Edmondson in downtown 最新杏吧原创. Riley was sentenced to 18 years and nine months for the crash.
