Tragic Accident Leads to Charges After Victim’s Recovery

A 22-year-old man passed away from injuries sustained in a car accident earlier this month, but before his death, he awoke from a coma and informed police that his girlfriend had deliberately caused the crash.

Daniel Waterman was a passenger in a vehicle driven by his girlfriend, Lega Manby, 24, during Super Bowl weekend in February on an interstate in Flagler County, Florida. He succumbed to his injuries on October 8th, as reported.

Waterman’s mother shared that, although he was in a coma for some time, he was eventually able to communicate with investigators about the incident leading up to the crash.

According to officers, Waterman described to them from his hospital bed that Manby had intentionally caused the accident, allegedly stating, “It doesn’t matter what happens. You’ll get what you deserve.”

His grandfather, Michael Gilman, added that Waterman endured fractures in multiple areas, including his neck, back, and collarbone, along with dislocated hips and fractures in his foot and ankle. He remarked, “He destroyed everything. It wasn’t anything major, it wasn’t broken. He had scratches all over the place.”

Manby was initially arrested in July, facing charges of reckless driving resulting in serious injury and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She has pleaded not guilty to these charges.

Following Waterman’s death, prosecutors upgraded Manby’s charges to vehicular homicide. She was taken into custody at the Flagler County Jail but later released on a $150,000 bond.

“This was not an accident,” stated John Hager, the attorney representing Waterman’s family. He indicated that evidence suggests she was not applying the brakes and that the vehicle was speeding at the time of the collision.

Hager also confirmed that Manby was pregnant with Waterman’s child at the time of the accident and later gave birth.

A GoFundMe established for Waterman mentioned his excitement about becoming a father. “Daniel is about to become a father to a baby girl and was so excited,” it stated. “All he wanted to do was go home to her and his family who loved him so much. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t just say he wanted to go home.”