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Nearly a year after Janae Edmondson lost her legs in Downtown St. Louis crash, here's what latest hearing means for the case

St. Louis police said Daniel Riley hit Janae Edmondson as she and her family were walking to their downtown hotel from a volleyball tournament in February 2023.

ST. LOUIS — In February 2023, then-17-year-old Tennessean Janae Edmondson visited St. Louis for a volleyball tournament held at the downtown convention center. St. Louis police said Daniel Riley hit the teenager as she and her family were walking to their nearby hotel.

On Thursday, Dan Diemer, Daniel Riley's attorney, filed a motion for continuance at the latest high-profile hearing in the case because he said he needed more time to examine new evidence. During the hearing, Riley waved his right to appear.

"I want Daniel to have a fair trial. Since day one, he has been made like a poster child for somebody who was violating their bond. He should have never been on bond. That's the point of this," Diemer said.

Diemer also argued for a change of venue and said it was necessary due to the "bad publicity" his client received after another crash this week resulted in the death of a mother and daughter who were walking downtown after attending the Drake concert.

The judge denied the motion for more time and the change of venues.

In an interview with St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, she called for more street safety in the downtown area.

"We are doing everything we can to implement traffic studies that have been sitting on shelves for years. We're using over $40 million of our funds to deploy these resources to make our top 10 dangerous intersections safer. Those studies are going to be implemented in the coming months," Jones added. 

Kevin Carnie, Edmondson's attorney, said nearly one year after the crash that changed her life, Edmondson continues to make progress in rehabilitation as a new freshman in college. 

"She's trying to get her life back to some kind of a new normal. Obviously, everything's different, but she's working hard, I can tell you that," Carnie said.

"Janae hopes that her case can be an example for change. We think that has happened. But there's a lot more that needs to be done," Carnie added. 

Carnie added it's best to move the case forward as soon as possible to get it to trial.

The next hearing in the case will be held on Friday, Feb. 23 at the St. Louis Circuit Court. 

The trial has been set for March 4.

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