Middle Tennessee teen loses legs after being struck by car in St. Louis
Teen was walking back to hotel with family after attending volleyball tournament
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A Middle Tennessee teen attending a volleyball event in St. Louis was critically injured when she was hit by a car, authorities said.
Janae Edmondson, 16, was at the event Saturday with her family and was walking to their hotel after the first day when a driver drove through a yield sign and struck a car. The car then hit Edmondson, according to St. Louis Metro Police, and she was critically injured.
According to our sister station, KMOV, the driver of the car was identified by police as Daniel Riley.
Riley was later arrested for three counts of assault, armed criminal action, and operating a vehicle without a valid license, according to KMOV.
“A wonderful kid with a great smile,” said Jeff Wismer, the Assistant Director at Mid TN Volleyball Club. “A three-sport athlete in Murfreesboro Tennessee, who committed to play college volleyball next year.”
Wismer revealed that Edmondson’s life will forever be changed after the crash.
“She has lost both limbs below her waist,” Wismer said. “So for us how do you find words to explain our sorrow. We really can’t.”
According to our sister station, KMOV, a gray Audi Q5 can be seen driving westbound through the intersection on St. Charles Street failing to yield. Then a second car, a Chevy Malibu driving north on 11th, hits the Audi.
“I think everybody wants to hug their parents and hug their kids and be a little bit tighter with them because you never know when something like this can happen,” said Scott McQueen, owner and tournament director of Capitol Sports Center. “But again we have a great volleyball community here and everybody is banding together and really supporting Middle Tennessee, the Volleyball Club.”
As Edmonson goes down her long road to recovery, a GoFundMe account was set up by the volleyball community to help the Edmondson family with medical expenses and other financial needs.
More than $200,000 has been raised for Edmondson
“The road for Janae is tough,” Wismer said. “There’s going to be a lot of challenges ahead, financial challenges, emotional challenges that we’re hoping that the community can embrace this family as she goes through this unique time in her life that you can never imagine. This is an unthinkable situation that she has to encounter right now.”
“We are thankful to report that her condition, though serious, is now stable,” Mid TN Volleyball Club posted on its website. “We at Mid Tn Volleyball are asking our community to pray for Janae, her family and her teammates. The whole club loves Janae and values her athletic gifts, toughness, determination and perseverance. These are things she will need in great measure during the long recovery that lies ahead.”
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