Leigha Mumby pleaded not guilty as her trial began Tuesday in Flagler County, Florida, on charges stemming from a February 9, 2025, crash on Interstate 95. Daniel Waterman, her boyfriend, survived the wreck but died on October 8, 2025, after suffering severe injuries, according to prosecutors’ opening statements reported by Fox News.
Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark told jurors that vehicle data showed the SUV traveling 94 mph shortly before it veered off the highway. Prosecutors allege Mumby made a deliberate turn after an argument about messages from another woman. The charges include vehicular homicide and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury.
Defense attorney Reid Hart disputed that account. He urged jurors to consider whether something unexpected inside the vehicle caused its change in direction and argued Mumby could not prevent the crash once the SUV began moving toward the woods.
Sarah Stappenbeck, who hosted the gathering the couple attended before the crash, testified that Mumby had expressed concerns about Waterman talking to other women. Stappenbeck said Mumby called her twice on the drive, angry about a text and saying she intended to bring Waterman back to the house. They did not arrive, she testified.
Jurors will not hear Waterman’s account to detectives from his hospital bed. He reportedly said Mumby intentionally swerved after an argument, but Judge Dawn Nichols ruled the statements inadmissible. The article does not provide the court’s full reasoning for that ruling.
Mumby was initially arrested in July 2025. Prosecutors added the vehicular-homicide charge after Waterman’s death. The trial adjourned after Tuesday’s proceedings; the source does not report a verdict.
