Florida Dad's Heartbreaking Final Words Raise Chilling Questions

Nine months after young father-to-be Daniel Waterman died from injuries following a Florida car crash, his grieving family says their fight for justice is far from over. The 22-year-old was seriously injured in a crash in Flagler County on Super Bowl Sunday in February 2025. His then-pregnant girlfriend, Leigha Mumby, was driving the vehicle. Waterman’s family says he suffered catastrophic injuries and was initially airlifted to a Florida hospital, where he remained in intensive care until he died on October 8, 2025. Waterman fought for his life for months. Credit: Facebook / Tiffany Waterman His family is now preparing to return to Florida on July 22 for a pretrial hearing, as they continue to seek answers over the circumstances surrounding his death. Waterman’s grandfather, Michael Gilman, helped raise him during his early childhood and remembered the young man as someone with a bright future. Recalling fond memories of his late grandson, Gilman said: “When he was born, I cut his cord. So that was quite the experience for me.” Explaining their close relationship, he added: “He was my kid. He lived with us until he was about five years old.” Waterman’s aunt, Tiffany Waterman, said that her nephew woke up briefly from his coma and was able to tell his family about the argument he had with Mumby before the crash and told his family he had feared for his life. She told a Syracuse news channel, WSYR-TV : “They were arguing in the vehicle, this is according to Waterman's statement, and he did receive a text from a female friend back in New York, a friend he’s had since middle school. "She got very jealous and upset during this and they exchanged expletives. She started to slow the car down to about 50 mph and this is when Daniel was trying to escape the car because he did feel his life was in danger. "He had been in an accident before and he was very scared of getting in an accident again. She knew this and was taunting him with the vehicle." The aunt then added: “She then sped up into the 90s (mph) and the last thing he remembered was her screaming at him, ‘I don’t care what happens. You’ll get what you deserve.’ They ended up immediately after into a tree.” Tragically, his family has not met his daughter. Credit: Facebook / Tiffany Waterman Waterman's family has never met his infant daughter Mumby was later charged with vehicular homicide following Waterman’s death. Three days after he died, Mumby gave birth to the couple’s daughter on October 11, 2025. Tragically, Waterman’s family says they have never met the child and do not even know her name. His grieving grandfather claimed: “We haven’t seen her. That tears at our heart. She needs to know who her dad was. She never got to meet him, so it’s our charge to make sure she knows him.” Waterman's heartbroken aunt said: “It was beautiful to see him start to mature. That’s what’s really sad because he was just starting out on his life at 22.” The family says it has made countless trips between Central New York and Florida for court hearings. Gilman said: “We promised Daniel we will make sure he gets justice. “We’ll do everything in our power to make sure that his daughter knows him as best anybody could.” Featured image credit: Facebook / Tiffany Waterman