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A young man yanked his hand away from his girlfriend's as he lay dying in hospital, his family said, after a car crash that prosecutors now say was a deliberate act on her part.
asserted
prosecutors → publish → part
Daniel Waterman's aunt Tiffany told the Daily Mail that they witnessed the Upstate New York landscaper, 22, pull away from Leigha Mumby, 25, on coming-to in a Florida hospital in February 2025 and realizing that she was holding onto him.
asserted
she → tell → him
Tiffany said Waterman also turned all photos of himself with Mumby placed around his bed to cheer him up face down after he regained movement in his arms.
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he → say → arms
Waterman was fatally injured when Mumby crashed her car into a tree in her hometown of Flagler.
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Mumby → injure → Flagler
He succumbed to his wounds in hospital eight months later, in October 2025.
asserted
He → succumb → October
Tiffany told the Daily Mail that Waterman's family initially believed Mumby's claim that the crash was a tragic accident.
uncertain
crash → tell → claim
They said they let Mumby, who was pregnant with Waterman's child, visit him while in hospital while she recovered from her own injuries.
asserted
she → say → injuries
But Mumby was later accused of crashing the car on purpose moments after allegedly complaining that Waterman had cheated on her.
uncertain
Waterman → accuse → her
Daniel Waterman, who worked as a landscaper, was injured in the crash in February 2025 and died of his injuries eight months later, in October 2025
Leigha Mumby is pictured beside her late boyfriend Daniel Waterman in his hospital bed after a car crash that left him with fatal injuries.
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that → work → injuries
She is now charged with crashing the vehicle on purpose and is due to stand trial next week
She was charged with vehicular homicide, denied it and her trial for the alleged crime will begin on Thursday.
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trial → charge → Thursday
Waterman's family have likened the case to that of Mackenzie Shirilla, the infamous 'Hell on Wheels' teen and subject of Netflix documentary The Crash.
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family → liken → documentary
The Ohio murderess, now 23, killed her boyfriend Dominic Russo, 20, and his friend David Flanagan, 19 by deliberately slamming her Toyota Camry into a brick wall.
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murderess → kill → wall
She is serving life in prison over the July 2022 killings, with Tiffany telling the Daily Mail: 'I was shocked by how similar the cases are.'
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cases → serve → Mail
Mumby, who has since had Waterman's child, said she had no memory of what happened.
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what → have → memory
Prosecutors and Waterman's family tell a different story.
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Prosecutors → tell → story
Tiffany shared a video with the Daily Mail that shows Waterman fading in and out of consciousness in hospital nine days after the crash.
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Waterman → share → crash
She said Waterman's family wheeled Mumby to his hospital bed after surrounding him with photographs of the couple during happier times, which he was to later place face down.
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face → say → which
In the footage, Mumby can be seen in her wheelchair wearing a hospital gown as she held his left hand, which Tiffany said he repeatedly tried to pull away from her.
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he → see → her
Daniel Waterman is seen with Leigha Mumby in an undated photo.
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Waterman → see → photo
The couple met on dating app Bumble in 2024
Leigha Mumby is pictured in court last month.
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Mumby → meet → court
She has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide
Daniel
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She → plead → homicide
Waterman is seen in his hospital bed with girlfriend Leigha Mumby to his right.
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Waterman → see → right
Waterman's family said he tried to yank his hand away on realizing that Mumby was holding it
Daniel Waterman, of Liverpool in Upstate New York, told a police investigator that Leigha Mumby deliberately crashed the car the night he was fatally injured, according to an affidavit seen by the Daily Mail
'
uncertain
he → say → Mail
He shook his head when Leigha came up to his bed,' she told the Daily Mail.
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she → shake → Mail
'He was coming in and out of consciousness, so we thought he was confused.
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he → come → consciousness
When she tried to hold his hand, he pulled away.
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he → try → hand
We didn't know why at the time.
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We → know → time
Waterman could also be seen jerking his head in apparent panic as he woke up beside Mumby in the video, while his relatives tried to comfort him, telling him 'you're safe now'.
uncertain
you → see → him
The alleged victim's mouth was obscured by several tubes and he could not speak.
uncertain
he → allege → tubes
Tiffany told the Mail that he later used a letterboard to tell his mother that Mumby had crashed the car on purpose after accusing him of cheating on her.
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Mumby → tell → her
'He still had tubes in his mouth, but he said: 'Help me, help me.
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he → have → me
She killed me, she killed me,'' Tiffany said.
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Tiffany → kill → me
An affidavit obtained by the Mail shows that Waterman told Police Officer Darin Harper the same story when interviewed about the crash on May 15, 2025.
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Waterman → obtain → May
'Daniel stated, the last thing he remembers before the crash was Leigha told him, 'I don't care what happens, you'll get what you deserve' and swerved off the roadway, colliding with a tree,' Harper wrote in the affidavit.
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Harper → state → affidavit
The nightmare began on the night of February 9, 2025, as Mumby drove her white Honda Passport through Flagler County with Waterman in the passenger seat just before 10.30pm.
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Mumby → begin → 10.30pm
Waterman's family told the Daily Mail the case is eerily similar to that of Mackenzie Shirilla, 23, who was jailed in August 2023 for killing her boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend by intentionally crashing into a brick wall in Ohio on July 31, 2022.
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who → tell → July
Shirilla is pictured with Russo
Daniel is pictured with his family, including his aunt Tiffany Waterman in the red dress, and his cousins who were more like siblings to him, his relatives told the Daily Mail
Mumby had learned earlier that day that she was pregnant.
asserted
she → picture → Mail
The couple had just left a Super Bowl party hosted by Waterman's cousins - Tiffany's children - suddenly and without saying goodbye to anyone, according to his aunt.
uncertain
couple → leave → aunt
Tiffany told Daily the Mail that Mumby had shown Waterman and his cousin, Sarah, a positive pregnancy test before the party, before privately telling Sarah: 'I will make sure Daniel never cheats on me again'.
asserted
Daniel → tell → me
The police affidavit details how Mumby's Honda hurtled down Interstate 95 and accelerated to a speed of about 93mph five seconds before the crash at 10.25pm.
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Honda → detail → 10.25pm
…and 26 more, not listed.
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