ST. LOUIS–Support continues to pour in from across the country for Janae Edmondson, the volleyball player who lost both of her legs following a crash in downtown St. Louis over the weekend. She was in town for a volleyball tournament with her team from Tennessee and was walking back to her hotel when the wreck happened.
The high school senior, from Smyrna, Tennessee, was in stable condition, her coach said, but faced complications that could keep her hospitalized for weeks.
Volleyball teams have been posting well wishes on social media. Last night, five different teams with St. Louis Crossfire Elite Volleyball Club all wore purple during practice to send their love to Janae, her family, and her club.
Her hometown of Smryna, Tenn. is also rallying support. There is a sign outside her high school honoring the player.
Janae’s club has started a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses. As of Thursday morning, it has raised more than $373,000.
The Mid TN Volleyball Club’s website says “we are thankful to report that her condition, though serious, is now stable. We at Mid TN Volleyball Club are asking our community, to pray for Janae, her family, and her teammates. The whole club loves Janae and values her athletic gifts, toughness, determination, and perseverance. These are things she will need in great measure during the long recovery that lies ahead.”
This tragedy also hits close to home for the Lesley and Rhyan Prather Foundation.The nonprofit is also collecting donations for Janae’s family.
The foundation is named after a mother and daughter from Kentucky who died in a wreck while on a way to a President’s Day volleyball tournament in Kansas City. Another mother and daughter were with them on the way to the tournament when their minivan was hit head-on by a pickup truck on I-64 near Wentzville, Mo.. All four, from Louisville, Ky., died.
“As many of us know all too well, our community is still healing from the loss of Lesley, Rhyan, Kacey & Carrie and now the Edmondson family, Mid TN Club & TN community have to deal with this tragic situation that occurred this weekend.”
The group said the Louisville volleyball community rallied around the Prather and McCaw family during their time of need and now this is our opportunity to support the Edmondson & Mid TN family.
The foundation now helps women, children and families dealing with tragedies like car accidents, illness, fires, etc. The group has collected nearly $6,000 and organizers say it will be sending funds directly to the family to cover any medical, travel and any other expenses!
Daniel Riley has been charged in connection with the crash. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is under fire for her office's handling of Riley’s case involving an armed robbery suspect who violated terms of his bond more than 50 times.