Copyright perezhilton
[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content] A man was horrifically injured in a car accident back in February, and he would go on to die from those injuries just a few weeks ago after suffering through a months-long coma. …But not before pointing the finger at his girlfriend before passing. Now, the girlfriend — identified as 24-year-old Leigha Mumby (pictured above, in her mugshot) — is facing manslaughter charges in the February 9 crash that ended up taking the life of her boyfriend, 22-year-old Daniel Waterman (also pictured above). It all came to a head back on the 8th of this month when Waterman died after developing pneumonia. He had been in the hospital for almost exactly eight months by then, following a February 9 car accident in South Florida. And now, a little more than two weeks after his death, Mumby has officially been charged with vehicular manslaughter. That charge was added to Mumby’s tally after initial charges she picked up back in July. And those charges only ever came about in the first place because Waterman woke up from an extended coma back in May to inform police (without being able to speak!) that his girlfriend allegedly crashed the car intentionally. What the… How It Started So, this all started way back on the night of Sunday, February 9. On that evening, Waterman and Mumby were in the car and arguing with each other while traveling at a high rate of speed along Interstate 95 in Flagler County, Florida. Per multiple outlets including both Law & Crime and the local newspaper the Post-Standard, Daniel’s mom Heather claimed that the young man and his girlfriend were arguing after Leigha had just found out earlier in the day that she was pregnant. Reportedly, Daniel had received a text from a female friend in New York about the Super Bowl, which was going on that very afternoon, and Mumby had confronted him about the message. Daniel was a Kansas City Chiefs fan, and his friend in NY was a Philadelphia Eagles fan, Heather reported to the media. Well, as the couple continued to drive, the argument escalated. Mumby’s driving got so reckless, according to police affidavits reported by TooFab and others, that Daniel reportedly tried to jump out of the car at one point when she slowed down to 50 mph. She allegedly got the car back up to 90 mph, though, and they continued up the highway arguing the whole time. Per the affidavits, Waterman later informed cops that Mumby said this to him: “I don’t care what happens, you’ll get what you deserve.” After that, the car flew off the road at a high rate of speed and slammed into a tree, severely injuring both parties. Per the Post-Standard, investigators later corroborated the story based on the vehicle’s event data recorder, which tracked that it had actually accelerated prior to the crash. Whoa. Remember, also, that this woman was pregnant. Daniel was horribly injured in the accident. A criminal complaint later filed by Flagler County Sheriff’s Deputies lists his injuries as including: “A C6-7 fracture, cervical spine injury, clavicle fracture, femur fracture, hip dislocation, epidural hematoma, pneumothorax with pulmonary contusion, zygomatic and temporal contusion, [and a] talus fracture.” He also went into a coma after the crash — and for weeks, it looked as though he may never come out of it. Coma Confessions As for Mumby, she was also hospitalized after the crash. Per court documents, she finally recovered enough over the next several days to tell police that she “did not know what happened prior to the crash and only remembers waking up in agonizing pain.” But here’s where the story gets really crazy. Waterman eventually woke up from his coma in May — so, like, three months after the crash. He was still suffering from the rest of his horrific injuries, and he couldn’t even speak at that point. But when investigators came to his hospital room to ask for more details about that fateful February accident, he spelled it out. Literally. Heather told the Post-Standard that her son was able to tell his side of the story to detectives by having them point to letters on a board with him making sounds to indicate which letter he wanted to use. In total, it took about 90 minutes for Daniel to get the point across — again, without speaking at all — that the crash was NOT an accident. In turn, cops got all their proverbial ducks in a row when it came to evidence and arrested Mumby a few weeks after that. She was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, according to her original arrest affidavit. Temporary Improvement Things took a turn for the (relative) better for Daniel for a while after that. His family moved him from a hospital in Daytona Beach up to one in Syracuse, New York in late July. His condition began to slowly improve: he was in a wheelchair for parts of his days, he was doing physical therapy, and his mom reported that he was even beginning to think about starting a sports podcast. But early this month, Daniel caught pneumonia. And his physical injuries and months of suffering had taken such a toll on his immune system that he died from the disease on October 8. Not long after that, cops amended their charges against Mumby to include the aforementioned vehicular manslaughter allegation. However, according to Daniel’s mother in her chat with the Post-Standard, his death may complicate things on that front. That’s because his (word-free) statement to the police after waking up from the coma could be inadmissible in court because Daniel is not alive or present to be cross-examined and questioned by Mumby’s attorneys should a criminal trial take place in the future. Custody Battle Looming Plus, Heather Waterman said her family is now looking at a possible interstate custody battle over Daniel and Leigha’s child. While the little girl’s paternity has not yet been confirmed, Heather told the newspaper that it was her son’s dying wish for his family to get custody of the baby. She said: “We’ll do whatever we can do to bring her to us. He wanted her raised in New York with his family.” Talk about another crazy wrinkle in an already wild story filled with twists and turns… ‘This Is What He Gets’ Immediately after the crash, Waterman’s cousin Jessica Stappenback told FlaglerLive.com that the couple had left a local Super Bowl party before the game between the Eagles and Chiefs ended. Jessica told that outlet that she was the last person to speak with the duo before the crash. According to Stappenback’s comments from back then, Mumby allegedly called her twice during the tragic drive. Leigha was reportedly upset because she thought Daniel was cheating on her, Stappenback reported. She said she then got a strange text from Waterman’s phone just minutes before what turned out to be the (eventually) deadly car crash which read: “This is what he gets for being a liar and a cheater.” For now, Mumby has yet to be arraigned on the vehicular manslaughter charge, according to TooFab. She was released from Flagler County Jail on a $25,000 bond back in July for the original charges. Her next pre-trial court appearance on those charges is scheduled for November 19. Amid all this, a GoFundMe page has been created to help Daniel — and now that he has passed away, his family — with the awful aftermath of this situation. You can visit that page HERE. What a crazy, sad, and jaw-dropping story all around. Unfathomable. [Image via GoFundMe/Flagler County Sheriff’s Office]
