Janae Edmondson: 16-year-old Tennessee girl loses BOTH legs after being hit by car ahead of volleyball tournament in St Louis
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI: A 16-year-old was struck by a car on Saturday night, leaving her with serious, possibly fatal injuries. The incident took place at America's Center in the heart of St Louis. Janae Edmondson, a teenager from Tennessee, was in town to compete in a volleyball match, where fate took a turn and she faced a life-changing tragedy.
Jeff Wismer, the assistant director of the Middle Tennessee Volleyball Club, claims that Janae Edmondson was seriously injured on Saturday night while returning to her hotel in St Louis with her family. Edmondson had just committed to playing volleyball in college when she joined her 18-Blue team.
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About Janae Edmondson's accident
Edmondson was struck on Saturday night, February 18, at about 8.40 pm, as per reports. A second car, Chevy Malibu, was hit by the gray Audi Q5, which the St. Louis Police claim ran over a give-way sign at the intersection. When the Malibu blew up and hit Edmondson, she was trapped between it and a parked car. The teenager sustained severe wounds that required the amputation of both of her legs and completely altered her life, according to KMOV.
Police identified the driver of the vehicle as 21-year-old Daniel Riley. Riley was subsequently detained on charges of three counts of assault, armed criminal action, and driving without a license. Police claim that at the time of the collision, he was traveling at a speed of 45 miles per hour, 20 over the legal limit, as reported by LocalToday.
In August 2022, he received a personal acknowledgment of the terms of GPS monitoring and house arrest. The statement went on to say that it had been notified of "many" GPS violations, the most recent of which was reported just five days prior to the crash, as reported by NBC.
'The road ahead of Janae is hard'
Jeff Wismer has known Edmonson and her family for many years. He called Edmondson a "gifted" teenager who had only committed to playing volleyball in college last week. He further added, "We're frustrated. We resent any responsible action, an overlooked sign, or whatever the cause of it." Wismer describes Edmondson as a young girl with a bright future. She now faces a long road to recovery, as reported by KSDK. “She has lost both limbs below her waist, so for us, how do you find words to explain our sorrow? We really can’t,” said Jeff Wismer.
He went on and added, "The road ahead of Janae is hard. There will be many challenges ahead, financial challenges, emotional challenges." Wismer said they hope that the family will receive the support of our community as they navigate this extraordinary and unanticipated period of their lives. She is currently confronted with an unimaginable situation, as per reports.