FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — A 22-year-old New York man who awoke from a coma months after a devastating car crash accused his girlfriend of deliberately causing the wreck before succumbing to complications from his injuries.
Daniel Waterman was a passenger in a vehicle driven by his girlfriend, Leigha Mumby, 24, when the car veered off Interstate 95 in Flagler County, Florida, and slammed into a tree in February. The crash left Waterman with critical injuries and in a coma for several weeks.
According to court documents, the couple had been arguing during the drive. Waterman’s mother, Heather, said the dispute began after Mumby saw a text message on his phone from a female friend in New York. The woman, she said, was simply a fellow football fan.
Mumby, who had recently learned she was pregnant, allegedly became enraged and began driving erratically before losing control of the vehicle. Waterman later told investigators that she had said, “I don’t care what happens. You’ll get what you deserve,” moments before the crash.
In May, Waterman regained consciousness and used a whiteboard to communicate with authorities. He claimed Mumby intentionally crashed the car. His mother described the moment as “chilling” and said her son never stopped fighting to recover.
Waterman was eventually transferred to Upstate University Hospital in New York, where he died on Oct. 8 after contracting pneumonia. His death came eight months after the crash and just weeks before the birth of his daughter.
Initially charged in July with reckless driving and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, Mumby now faces upgraded charges of vehicular homicide following Waterman’s death. She had also sustained injuries in the crash but has since recovered.
Waterman’s family is now seeking custody of the couple’s newborn daughter. “We’ll do whatever we can to bring her to us,” his mother said. “He wanted her raised in New York with his family.”
A GoFundMe campaign launched by the family described Waterman as a devoted soon-to-be father who longed to return home. “There was not a day that went by that he didn’t express that he just wanted to come home,” the statement read.
The case has drawn national attention, with many expressing sympathies for Waterman’s family and calling for justice. Legal proceedings against Mumby are ongoing.
