Family's statement after man woke up from coma to blame girlfriend for causing car crash before dying
The family of a father-to-be who woke up from a coma to blame his fatal car crash on his girlfriend has released a statement on the situation.
Daniel Waterman was riding with his girlfriend Leigha Mumby on a Florida highway in February before the car swerved off the road and crashed into a tree.
The American woke up from the crash with severe injuries, including spinal injuries and trauma to his head and face, which left him in a coma.
Mumby was pregnant at the time of the crash and she went on to survive her injuries, giving birth to a baby girl before Waterman was stabilised and transferred from Florida to a hospital in Syracuse, New York, where the father was from.
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There, he regained consciousness and made a bold claim to police.
Waterman accused his girlfriend of crashing the car on purpose, according to an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, as he claimed that they were arguing after he'd received a text message from a woman in New York, who his mother has since said was his friend, as they were chatting about the Super Bowl.
The family have since taken to his GoFundMe to release a statement confirming his passing: "It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Daniel M. Waterman, 22, of Liverpool, NY, who left this world on October 8th, far too soon following a tragic act of violence. Daniel passed away after courageously fighting for eight months from injuries sustained in a crash.
"Daniel was an excited, soon-to-be father of a baby girl. He wanted nothing more than to come home to her and to the family who loved him so dearly.
"There was not a day that went by that he didn’t express that he just wanted to come home. Eight long months of suffering."
Waterman claimed that Mumby, who was at the wheel, was driving erratically and even sped up around 80 to 90 mph even saying that she 'didn't care what happens' as he would 'get what he deserved' before allegedly swerving into a tree.
While his condition improved at first, even starting physical therapy, the 22-year-old developed pneumonia, which ultimately led to his death on 8 October, despite mum Heather Waterman telling local outlet Syracuse.com that 'he literally never gave up'.
Mumby has been charged with vehicular homicide following Waterman's passing, having been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury in July this year.
Waterman's family is now starting to build a legal case to establish paternity and gain custody of the couple's child, with Heather saying that they'll 'do whatever we can do' to bring the little girl under their custody.
She claimed that her late son had been taking parenting classes in anticipation of his child's birth, with his grandfather telling CNYcentral: "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," adding that it has to be through the family's actions and memories as they 'will not let him be gone'.
Joshua Nair