Leigha Mumby trial opens in fatal 2025 Flagler County SUV crash Prosecutors say Leigha Mumby deliberately crashed an SUV at nearly 100 mph after seeing another woman's text messages, killing Daniel Waterman. Defense calls it a tragedy and questions what caused the sudden turn. Leigha Mumby went on trial Tuesday on charges of vehicular homicide and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury in the death of Daniel Waterman, 22, who survived a February 2025 crash but died eight months later. Prosecutors told jurors the Florida woman was furious over another girl's text messages when she deliberately turned an SUV with her boyfriend inside off Interstate 95 and into the woods at nearly 100 mph. Mumby's defense attorney offered a different explanation as the trial opened, suggesting something happened inside the vehicle that she neither anticipated nor controlled.Prosecutor Describes High Speed And Reckless TurnAssistant State Attorney Melissa Clark said the couple left a Super Bowl party before the Feb. 9, 2025, wreck on Interstate 95 in Flagler County, according to proceedings livestreamed by Court TV. Clark said the SUV traveled at speeds exceeding 100 mph before the crash. Vehicle data showed it was moving at 94 mph in the final seconds before an abrupt, left-hand turn at 45 degrees sent it off the highway and into the woods.The prosecutor described the turn as a dangerous and reckless maneuver. Waterman suffered a broken neck that left him paralyzed from the neck down, Clark said. He fell into a coma and, after awakening, could not breathe on his own. His death on Oct. 8, 2025, was directly related and caused by this crash, Clark told the jury.Jurors will not hear Waterman's own account of the crash that he told detectives before he died. He told investigators from his hospital bed that Mumby deliberately swerved off the road following an argument over another woman's text message. A judge ruled those statements inadmissible, leaving prosecutors unable to present his version of events at trial. Prosecutors said they wanted jurors to hear Waterman's account but acknowledged the rules of evidence prevented them from using it.Defense Claims Driver Lost Control Of VehicleThe court is bound by the law and the court is bound by the rules of evidence, Judge Dawn Nichols said in the ruling. Defense attorney Reid Hart called the case a pure and utter tragedy and urged jurors to consider whether the SUV's sudden change in direction resulted from something outside Mumby's control. The crux of this trial effectively comes down to one steering wheel input, and ultimately one question, Hart said, according to Court TV's livestream.Hart questioned whether Mumby chose to drive off the road or whether something happened inside the vehicle that she did not expect, she did not anticipate, and she did not control. He argued that once the vehicle began careening toward the woods, she could not stop it despite trying to avoid the crash. Jurors also heard Tuesday from Sarah Stappenbeck, Waterman's cousin and Mumby's best friend, who hosted the Super Bowl gathering.Stappenbeck testified that Mumby announced earlier that day that she had learned she was pregnant. But the news came alongside concerns about Waterman's contact with other women. Mumby expressed concerns of Daniel talking to other girls and said that she wasn't going to let Daniel cheat on her, Stappenbeck testified. The couple left before the game ended.Witness Details Phone Calls Following Super Bowl PartyWithin about 20 minutes, Stappenbeck said, Mumby called her, yelling that Waterman was texting another girl and that she planned to bring him back to the house. Stappenbeck said she did not hear Waterman speaking in the background. She tried to calm Mumby and urged the couple to get home safely and address their disagreement the following day. About 20 minutes later, Mumby called again, still angry, and repeated that she was bringing Waterman back, Stappenbeck said.They never arrived. Instead, Stappenbeck testified, Mumby's roommate called and told her to go to the hospital because there had been a crash. Before his death, Waterman told detectives Mumby deliberately caused the wreck after an argument over a text from another woman, according to charging documents previously reported by Court TV. He said the last thing he remembered was Mumby telling him, I don't care what happens, you'll get what you deserve, before swerving off the road.Mumby sat between her attorney, Reid Hart, and her legal assistant Monday during jury selection for her trial at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in Bunnell.