NEED TO KNOW
- Daniel Waterman died months after sustaining life-threatening injuries in a car crash in Florida
- He claimed he was in an argument with his girlfriend Leigha Mumby after finding out she was pregnant
- He alleged, during his recovery, Mumby caused the crash during the argument
A Florida woman is facing several charges, including vehicular homicide, after a car crash in February left her boyfriend dead months later.
Daniel Waterman, 22, was in a car crash on an interstate in Flagler County, Fla., on Feb. 9, and sustained severe, life-threatening injuries, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
His girlfriend, 24-year-old Leigha Mumby, was arrested in July after the warrant was issued on charges of reckless driving causing serious bodily injury and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, per the affidavit.
She was charged with vehicular homicide on Friday, Oct. 24 after Waterman died from his injuries on Oct. 8, per an amended warrant reviewed by PEOPLE.
Following his rescue in the February crash, Waterman was brought to the hospital with severe injuries, including a spinal injury and trauma to his head and face, per the initial affidavit.
He slipped into a coma, the New York native’s mother told Syracuse.com.
After he awoke from the coma, he was interviewed by investigators, his mother said.
During an interview with investigators in May, the affidavit alleges, Waterman said Mumby had driven the vehicle into a tree during an argument on the night of the incident.
Waterman told police that the couple was arguing after he learned Mumby was pregnant, and after he received a text message from a woman in New York, per the complaint.
As the fight intensified, Mumby allegedly began driving recklessly, Waterman told police. At one point, she slowed down and Waterman tried to escape, he told police.
Mumby allegedly sped up again, and said: “I don’t care what happens, you’ll get what you deserve,” before driving the car into a tree, Waterman said, per the complaint.
Both were severely injured. Mumby allegedly told investigators a few days after the incident that she did not know what happened leading up to the crash, and remembers waking up “in agonizing pain,” investigators said in the affidavit.
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Both Mumby and the unborn child survived the crash, per reports. Waterman’s family is now fighting for custody of the child, pending a paternity test, CNY Central reported.
“We can’t let the baby grow up with a mom that could possibly do this,” Waterman’s grandfather Michael Gilman told the outlet.
“It’s our mission in life that if that child is his, that we take that child and teach her what her dad was all about,” Gilman said. “She has to know him through our actions, through our memories. We will not let him be gone.”
Waterman was eagerly looking forward to being a dad, his family said in a GoFundMe set up initially to assist with recovery-related bills.
“Daniel was an excited, soon-to-be father of a baby girl,” reads part of the fundraiser.
“There was not a day that went by that he didn’t express that he just wanted to come home.”
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Mumby has pleaded not guilty to the initial charges of reckless driving causing serious bodily injury and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to online court records reviewed by PEOPLE.
The records do not indicate a plea for the homicide charge; PEOPLE has reached out to an attorney listed for Mumby.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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