A Florida jury has found a woman guilty of intentionally crashing her car into trees while driving nearly 100 miles per hour and killing her boyfriend hours after she learned she was pregnant.
The incident took place in February 2025 when Leigha Mumby was driving recklessly at up to 110 mph. As she was arguing with her boyfriend, Daniel Waterman, she turned left off of Interstate 95 and crashed into several trees.
Waterman, 22, initially survived and was left in a coma, as well as was paralyzed from his broken neck down. When he woke up, he told authorities that Mumby, 25, had crashed the car on purpose.
He explained to the police that he and Mumby started fighting during the car ride after she found out she was pregnant and she learned he had been texting another woman.
Waterman later died of pneumonia in October 2025.
Mumby was also injured in the crash. However, she recovered and gave birth to the baby she was carrying during the incident.
“She’s so furious she calls her best friend to vent about it, screaming about Daniel texting with another woman,” Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark said during closing arguments of the trial on October 14, according to Flagerlive. “And when her best friend doesn’t react the way she likes, she abruptly hangs up. That was Leigha Mumby’s demeanor at the time of the crash.”
Mumby’s defense attorney, Reid Hart, said she did not know what led to the crash, and she denied she was “on a suicide mission.”
“There’s absolutely zero evidence or reasons to believe that she was in a place where she was going to put all of their lives, including hers and that of her own unborn child, at risk of serious violent harm or death,” Hart said.
Hart added that Mumby made “efforts to avoid the crash” and he argued that she proved “that she never intended for that to happen in the first place.”
The jury deliberated for 71 minutes before Mumby was convicted of vehicular homicide and reckless driving with serious bodily injury after deliberating on October 14.
Mumby is expected to be sentenced at a later date.
In light of the sentencing, Daniel’s mother, Heather Waterman, has reportedly re-filed a petition for visitations with her grandchild, according to Flaglerlive. She also reportedly filed an emergency motion seeking an expedited hearing after filing a petition to end Mumby’s parental rights in April.
It’s not currently clear whose custody the child is in. A hearing regarding the matter is scheduled to take place on November 4.
Mumby’s case is reminiscent of Mackenzie Shirilla, who crashed her car into a wall while driving 100 mph in 2022. She killed her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and their friend Davion Flanagan during the crash.
Shirilla, 22, was convicted of 12 felony charges, including four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, drug possession and possessing criminal tools, and was sentenced to serve 15 years to life behind bars in prison.
