Nine months after 22-year-old Daniel Waterman died from injuries sustained in a Florida car crash, his family is still fighting for justice.
Daniel Waterman was seriously injured on Super Bowl Sunday in February 2025 when the car driven by his then-pregnant girlfriend Leigha Mumby crashed into a tree in Flagler County, Florida.
He was airlifted to hospital and remained in intensive care for months before dying on October 8, 2025. Three days later, Mumby gave birth to their daughter.
Waterman’s family has never met the child. They do not know her name.
“That tears at our heart,” his grandfather Michael Gilman said.
“She needs to know who her dad was. She never got to meet him, so it’s our charge to make sure she knows him.”
Waterman’s chilling words as he woke up
Before he died, Waterman briefly regained consciousness and was able to tell his family what had happened in the car before the crash. His aunt Tiffany Waterman described his account to local news outlet WSYR-TV according to VT.
According to Waterman’s statement, the couple had been arguing after he received a text from a female friend he had known since middle school.
Mumby became jealous and the argument escalated. She began slowing the car to around 50mph, at which point Waterman, who had been in a previous accident and was terrified of being in another, attempted to get out of the moving vehicle.
His aunt said Mumby was aware of his fear and used it against him. She then accelerated to over 90mph.
The last words Waterman remembered hearing were: “I don’t care what happens. You’ll get what you deserve.”
Seconds later the car hit a tree.
The charges and preparation for trial
Mumby was subsequently charged with vehicular homicide. The family is due to return to Florida on July 22 for a pretrial hearing, having made numerous trips between Central New York and Florida as the case has worked its way through the courts.
Gilman, who helped raise Waterman from birth and describes cutting his grandson’s umbilical cord as one of the defining moments of his life, said the family made a promise they intend to keep.
“We promised Daniel we will make sure he gets justice,” he said.
“We’ll do everything in our power to make sure that his daughter knows him as best anybody could.”
His aunt added: “It was beautiful to see him start to mature. That’s what’s really sad – he was just starting out on his life at 22.”
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