Jury recommends nearly 19-year sentence for Daniel Riley
Riley was found guilty in the crash that cost Janae Edmondson her legs
ST. LOUIS (First Alert 4) – A St. Louis jury found Daniel Riley guilty of four charges Thursday and recommended he be sentenced for nearly 19 years.
Janae Edmondson was in downtown St. Louis for a volleyball tournament when she was hit by a car that Riley was driving in February 2023. Riley’s car pinned her between his SUV and a parked car.
The jury found Riley guilty of second-degree assault, armed criminal action, fourth-degree assault and operating a vehicle on a highway without a valid license. He was found not guilty of one misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault in relation to a enger in another vehicle being injured.
Jurors recommended that Riley serve six years and three months for second-degree assault, 11 years and eight months for armed criminal action and 10 months for fourth-degree assault, a total of 18 years and nine months. Riley will serve the 10-month fourth-degree assault charge in the City Justice Center. The rest of his sentence will be served in prison.
“Daniel Riley showed complete disregard for human life in the decisions he made to get behind the wheel of a car without a driver’s license and recklessly ignore the speed limit and traffic signs,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “His choices had catastrophic consequences for Janae Edmondson and her family. While this verdict will not restore their loss, it will hold Riley able.”
Riley will be sentenced on April 18.
On the first day of testimony, jurors heard from Janae Edmondson’s father. He recalled hearing a car speeding up, something prosecutors said was Riley going through a yield sign. Janae was then pinned between a parked car and the SUV Riley was driving.
“I turned to my right to grab Janae. I looked down at her and she was yelling, ‘Dad! I can’t feel my legs! I can’t feel my legs!” James Edmonson said. “My mind went from father mode to military mode and when I saw her legs severed and I knew she only had seconds and not minutes, my mind just kind of blocked everything out and it was like God had control of my hands at the time.”
James used a belt that belonged to someone ing by to help save his daughter’s life.
“This is the belt that I used from the gentleman who came upon the scene. As I could use her blanket, I needed a belt. He just reached down with his belt...I don’t know who that is, I want to tell him how much I appreciate him giving me this belt because it saved my daughter’s life. I’m still trying to find out who he was.”
On the final day of the trial, Janae took the witness stand. She recounted what she shared with those who were inside the responding ambulance.
“I was talking to them and saying, ‘My mom said don’t close my eyes. I have to stay awake,’ and I was just sitting there, looking up, repeating that to myself,” she said.
Janae also shared her healing process with the jury.
“It was just awful. I had stabbing pain all throughout my legs. I was numb majority of the time that I was in the hospital and even coming out, even now, my legs are still numb in places, and I can’t feel anything,” she said. “It was stabbing pain down my back, in my hips, in my legs. I just couldn’t deal with it anymore.”
Janae has undergone 29 surgeries, 23 of which took place in St. Louis within two weeks after the crash. She still has more surgeries ahead of her.
During the trial, jurors also heard from St. Louis police officers who described Riley’s demeanor after the crash as nonchalant. Prosecutors also showed the jury the blood test kit they said found THC, codeine and fentanyl in Riley’s system.
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