Leigha Mumby's vehicular homicide trial opened in Flagler County over the I-95 crash that killed her boyfriend.

A vehicular homicide charge is an accusation. It is not a conviction. Prosecutors say the swerve was angry and deliberate. The defense says something happened in the car that Mumby did not expect and could not stop. The jury will not hear what Waterman told detectives from his hospital bed, because Judge Dawn Nichols ruled those statements inadmissible before trial. That leaves vehicle data and the people who spoke with the couple that night.

Court TV reported that in her opening statement Tuesday, Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark told jurors that Waterman was a passenger in Mumby's car on Feb. 9, 2025, after the couple left a Super Bowl party at his cousin's home, and that they were traveling north on Interstate 95 at speeds over 100 mph. Clark said vehicle data showed the car going 94 mph in the 3.5 seconds before the crash and making an "abrupt, left-hand turn at 45 degrees" into the woods. She told jurors Waterman broke his neck, was paralyzed from the neck down, fell into a coma, and could not breathe on his own when he woke, and that his death on Oct. 8, 2025, was "directly related and caused by this crash." The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported Mumby, 25, is charged with vehicular homicide, reckless driving with serious bodily injury, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Court TV listed the vehicular homicide and reckless driving counts.

Mumby's attorney, Reid Hart, called the case a "pure and utter tragedy," Court TV reported. "The crux of this trial effectively comes down to one steering wheel input, and ultimately one question," he told jurors. He asked whether it makes sense that she chose to drive the car that way, "or does it make more sense that something happened within that vehicle that she did not expect, she did not anticipate, and she did not control?" An opening statement is a roadmap. It is not evidence.

The first witness Court TV described was Sarah Stappenbeck, Waterman's cousin and Mumby's best friend, who hosted the party. She testified that Mumby announced that day that she had just learned she was pregnant, but also "expressed concerns of Daniel talking to other girls and said that she wasn't going to let Daniel cheat on her." Stappenbeck said that within 20 minutes of the couple leaving, Mumby called her yelling that Waterman was texting another girl, that she tried to tell them to get home safe, and that Mumby said "You're taking his side" and hung up. She testified that Mumby called back about 20 minutes later, still angry, saying she was bringing Waterman back, and that the next call she got was from Mumby's roommate telling her to go to the hospital. That is one witness's account under oath. The defense has the right to test it on cross-examination.

Before trial, Judge Nichols granted a defense motion barring Waterman's out-of-court statements to police, family, and others as hearsay, FlaglerLive reported. Court TV reported jurors will not hear that Waterman told detectives in the ICU that the last thing he remembered was Mumby saying, "I don't care what happens, you'll get what you deserve," because the right to confront witnesses bars prosecutors from using it. FlaglerLive also reported that Nichols, with both sides agreeing, ordered that no one in the gallery wear clothing or signs showing support for either side, and that a public rally had been called outside the Bunnell courthouse. The Daily Mail posted court video Tuesday under a headline saying the judge halted the trial and chastised Mumby for crying too much in front of the jury. Its caption said Nichols was forced to halt the trial after Mumby broke down in tears. A pause for composure is courtroom management. It is not a ruling on the evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.