23 June 2023 , 14:56
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A teenage volleyball player from Tennessee is suing the Missouri city of St. Louis and two drivers who struck her in February, causing her to lose both legs.
The lawsuit on behalf of Janae Edmondson was filed Tuesday. The driver allegedly responsible for the wreck, Daniel Riley, was out on bond on a robbery charge despite several violations of his bond.
The accident resulted in outrage against Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner amid concerns that dysfunction in her office allowed Riley to remain free. Gardner resigned in May as Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey was seeking her ouster.
Gardner was not named in the lawsuit but her attorney, Kevin Carnie, said they were “weighing the possibility,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Teenage volleyball star loses both legs after being run over by unlicensed driver (Facebook/midtnvbc)Edmondson, then a high school senior, was in St. Louis for a volleyball tournament on Feb. 18. She was with her parents crossing an intersection when a speeding car driven by Riley collided with another car driven by a woman. Edmondson was pinned between the two vehicles.
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Edmondson “had her bright future brutally ripped away,” the lawsuit states, calling the crash “completely preventable.”
The lawsuit seeks damages of more than $25,000 from Riley, his mother, the city and the driver of the other vehicle. The suit says Riley’s mother allowed him to borrow her car despite his “habitual recklessness.” It says the driver of the other car should be held liable because she, too, was driving without a valid license.
Janae Edmondson is suing the city and the drivers that hit her as she was crossing the street with her parents, leaving her pinned between two cars (WKYC)The lawsuit blames the city for failing to maintain a safe intersection, citing a yield sign that the lawsuit claims was inadequate because buildings blocked the view of oncoming traffic.
Edmondson is also seeking unspecified damages of more than $25,000, with the formal papers alleging EAN Holdings provided a car to Kimberly Riley that was driven by her son Dan Riley, who does not have a license.
It claims his car collided with one driven by Smith, who had a suspended license. Riley’s vehicle then hit Edmondson near North 11th and St. Charles streets in downtown St. Louis.
A city spokesman declined comment.
Riley remains jailed as he awaits trial in his criminal case.
Gardner was not named in the lawsuit but her attorney, Kevin Carnie, said they were “weighing the possibility,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
“It's something we're still weighing in this case, it's something we're still evaluating,” Carnie said. “We can of course amend it and add her later.”
Embattled St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner resigned in May, ending a turbulent tenure marked by frequent criticism, especially from Missouri’s Republican leaders.
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Gardner was elected in 2016 to become the city’s first Black circuit attorney as part of a movement of progressive prosecutors who sought diversion to mental health treatment or drug abuse treatment for low-level crimes, pledged to hold police more accountable, and proactively sought to free inmates who were wrongfully convicted.
A series of events this year culminated with her departure.
Bailey filed a lawsuit in February seeking Gardner’s ouster on three grounds: failure to prosecute existing cases; failure to file charges in cases brought by police; and failure to confer with and inform victims and their families about the status of cases.