A Florida jury took just 71 minutes to reach a verdict in the case of a woman accused of deliberately crashing her car during an argument with her boyfriend, a collision that left him with life-threatening injuries and ultimately cost him his life.
Leigha Mumby, 25, was found guilty of vehicular homicide and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury in connection with the death of Daniel Waterman, 22. Prosecutors said the February 2025 crash on Interstate 95 in Flagler County happened after an argument escalated inside the couple’s vehicle.
The case centered on what happened in the moments before Mumby’s 2019 Honda Passport left the roadway and struck a tree. Prosecutors argued that she was driving aggressively at extreme speeds and intentionally steered the vehicle off the road. Waterman later told investigators that the crash was deliberate.
During closing arguments, Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark described Mumby’s driving as aggressive and dangerous. Prosecutors said the argument involved a pregnancy and messages Waterman had exchanged with another woman.
According to the allegations, Mumby had learned earlier that day that she was pregnant. She later discovered that Waterman had been texting a female friend, triggering an argument that prosecutors said intensified before the crash.
An argument that ended in a devastating crash
Investigators reconstructed the events leading up to the collision using Waterman’s account and other information gathered during the investigation.
According to the criminal complaint, the couple exchanged angry words while traveling on I-95. Waterman told investigators that Mumby began driving recklessly during the dispute.
He said she initially slowed the vehicle to approximately 50 mph, prompting him to try to get out. According to his account, she then accelerated to between 80 and 90 mph.
Waterman recalled Mumby telling him, “I don’t care what happens, you’ll get what you deserve,” before the vehicle swerved off the road and hit a tree.
Prosecutors presented evidence that the Honda reached speeds exceeding 100 mph before the collision.
The state argued that the circumstances surrounding the crash, including the couple’s argument and Mumby’s alleged statements, supported the conclusion that the vehicle was intentionally driven off the roadway.
The defense challenged that account, advancing a theory that an outside force may have contributed to the crash. The jury ultimately rejected that explanation and found Mumby guilty.
Waterman spent months recovering from severe injuries
The crash left Waterman with extensive injuries, including a cervical spine fracture, a broken clavicle and femur, a dislocated hip, bleeding around the spinal cord, a collapsed lung and injuries to his face and ankle.
His condition was so serious that he remained in a coma for more than three months.
Waterman regained consciousness on May 15, 2025. However, waking up did not mean he could immediately communicate normally with investigators or his family.
According to accounts of the investigation, he was unable to speak when police first sought to learn what had happened. Investigators reportedly used a letter board, allowing him to identify letters and form words by making sounds.
Through that process, Waterman described the argument and accused Mumby of intentionally causing the crash.
His account became a significant part of the investigation and helped authorities piece together the events leading up to the collision.
The allegations also included a message reportedly sent to one of Waterman’s relatives from his phone shortly before the crash. The message read, “This is what he gets for being a liar and a cheater.”
That statement added another element to the timeline investigators were examining as they worked to establish what happened before the Honda struck the tree.
A mother’s account of her son’s determination
For Waterman’s family, the months after the crash were marked by uncertainty as he fought to recover.
His mother described the determination he showed throughout his prolonged medical ordeal, saying he never stopped fighting.
“He never gave up,” she said. “This whole entire time, he literally never gave up.”
Despite surviving the initial collision and emerging from the coma, Waterman’s health remained fragile. On October 8, 2025, he died after developing pneumonia.
His death transformed an already serious crash investigation into a fatality case. Prosecutors subsequently pursued charges connected to his death, arguing that the dangerous driving had caused the injuries that led to the tragic outcome.
The case also highlighted the difficult aftermath of severe traumatic injuries. Survivors of major collisions can face lengthy hospital stays, rehabilitation and complications even after regaining consciousness. In Waterman’s case, his recovery lasted for months before his death.
The investigation focused on what happened before impact
A central issue in the case was the sequence of events leading up to the crash, including the argument, the vehicle’s speed and Waterman’s account after waking from his coma.
Investigators said the couple had been arguing about personal matters, including the pregnancy and a message Waterman had received from a female friend in New York.
A relative of Waterman’s also described speaking with him about the pregnancy earlier that day. According to her account, he had expressed uncertainty about how Mumby was handling the situation.
The couple reportedly left a Super Bowl gathering before the game ended. They then traveled along I-95, heading south before turning around near Palm Coast Parkway and traveling north.
Prosecutors argued that Mumby’s alleged statements and driving behavior showed that the crash was not simply an accident caused by a momentary loss of control.
The jury’s decision means Mumby has been convicted of the two offenses presented in the case. The verdict followed a trial in which jurors had to evaluate the competing accounts of how the crash occurred.
Questions remain about the couple’s daughter
The case also carries lasting consequences for the couple’s young daughter, who was born after the pregnancy became part of the investigation.
Waterman’s family previously said he wanted his daughter to be raised in New York near his relatives. His mother expressed hope that the family would be able to care for the child.
“We’ll do whatever we can do to bring her to us,” she said.
The child’s custody arrangements were not publicly established in the information available following the verdict. It remains unclear whether any custody proceedings have resulted in a final decision.
For Waterman’s relatives, the issue represents another deeply personal consequence of his death. Alongside grieving a son and family member, they are left navigating questions about the future of a child who has lost her father.
What the verdict means
The guilty verdict brings a major stage of the criminal case to a close, but it does not erase the consequences of the February 2025 crash.
Waterman’s death followed months of medical treatment after a collision prosecutors said was caused intentionally during an argument. His account, given after he emerged from a coma, became a crucial part of the investigation.
The case also serves as a reminder of how quickly aggressive driving can turn a personal dispute into a life-threatening emergency. Speeding reduces a driver’s ability to respond to hazards and can dramatically increase the force of an impact. When a vehicle is traveling at highway speeds, a deliberate or reckless maneuver can have catastrophic consequences for everyone inside.
For Waterman’s family, the verdict offers an answer to the central question of criminal responsibility. Their loss, however, extends beyond the courtroom: a young man who fought for months to recover is gone, and his family continues to face the consequences of a tragedy that began on a Florida interstate.
