ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Janae Edmondson, who lost her legs in a 2023 reckless driving incident, will receive $450,000 in settlement from the City of St. Louis.
Edmondson, then 17-years-old, was struck by a car in 2023 while walking with her family downtown following participating in a high school volleyball tournament.
The car, driven by Daniel Riley, hit another car and a parked vehicle, with Edmondson's legs was pinned between two of the cars.
The high-profile crash led to Edmondson, whose from Tennessee to lose both her legs and have them amputated.
The settlement is around $67,000 then the capped $517,316 due to Missouri laws.
"Janae and her family are better off settling for this amount rather than paying the expenses of a trial and then waiting to be paid while the case would work its way through years of appeals," said Simon Law Attorney Kevin Carnie Jr.
"Janae needs this money now to cover medical expenses—waiting isn't a good option—especially when you consider all the interest they would lose out on by waiting years to be paid."
Carnie said the Edmondson family decided to settle the case for $67,000 less than the capped amount in part because of the cost of taking it to the trial, which was scheduled to kick off March 3.
The driver involved in the incident, Riley, was found guilty of four of five counts he was charged with in the incident in April 2024, including second-degree assault and fourth-degree assuault.
Riley was sentenced to nearly 19 years of prison for causing the crash.
