Father-to-be wakes from coma, makes damning statement about girlfriend to police before dying
The crash left victim Daniel Waterman badly injured and led to his death. Tiffany Waterman / Facebook
A young Florida father-to-be who was left in a coma after a violent car crash briefly regained consciousness to accuse his girlfriend of deliberately causing the accident, authorities say.
Daniel Waterman, 22, a New York native, told investigators that his girlfriend, 24-year-old Leigha Mumby, sneered, “I don’t care what happens. You’ll get what you deserve,” during an argument while driving along Interstate 95 in Flagler County, Florida, on the night of last February’s Super Bowl, according to court documents.
Waterman was in the passenger seat when the car allegedly slammed into a tree, leaving him with severe injuries that put him in a coma, his mother told Syracuse.com. Using a whiteboard to communicate with investigators in May, he claimed Mumby caused the crash. The argument reportedly began after Mumby learned she was pregnant and after Waterman received a text from a woman in New York—a message his mother, Heather Waterman, said was innocuous, sent to a friend who was a Philadelphia Eagles fan while Daniel supported the Kansas City Chiefs.
Court documents allege Mumby then drove recklessly, crashing the vehicle into a tree. She was badly injured but survived, and her unborn child also survived and has since been born.
Waterman improved enough to be transferred to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse in July, but tragically died from pneumonia on October 8, Syracuse.com reported. “He never gave up,” Heather Waterman said. “This whole entire time, he literally never gave up.”
Mumby was initially charged in July with reckless driving causing serious bodily injury and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Following Waterman’s death, she faces vehicular homicide charges, according to People, citing law enforcement.
The Waterman family is now focused on securing custody of his child. Heather Waterman said she will pursue legal action to confirm Daniel’s paternity and bring the child to New York. “We’ll do whatever we can to bring her to us,” she told Syracuse.com. “He wanted her raised in New York with his family.”
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