In a shocking incident, Dionte Taylor allegedly hit Ellie Bentley, the British ex-girlfriend of US soccer star Ellie Bentley. Taylor reportedly dragged her under his car for two blocks, leaving her fighting for her life in the hospital. This disturbing event has sparked outrage and concern about violence and safety. And this all started following a gunfight.
Reports indicated that Taylor allegedly hit Bentley before dragging her under his car for two blocks. This disturbing event left Bentley fighting for her life in the hospital.
According to reports, Ellie hiding underneath a vehicle when a gunfight broke out in the US city St. Louis in Missouri. The gunfire caused Dionte Taylor, 25, to allegedly reverse the car and speed away, dragging Bentley underneath the car for two blocks, the Sun reports.
The gunfight allegedly broke out after a man attempted to get into the wrong car, after which Andre Wilson, 35, opened fire, hitting the 25-year-old man in the chest five times, according to his arrest report.
Alleged driver Taylor has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident that caused physical injury, while Wilson was charged a week after the shooting with first degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm. He is being held without bond.
After finally regaining consciousness on Saturday following weeks in the ICU, Bentley took to Instagram on Tuesday to tell her supporters, ‘I appreciate all the kindness.’
A GoFundMe has since surpassed £14,000 to help her family’s mounting medical bills, which the fundraiser said have been ‘compounded by Ellie and her family’s non-American citizenship.’
Bentley moved to the US last year with her then-boyfriend and football player Indiana Vassilev, who previously played for Aston Villa.
Bentley was rushed to hospital having suffered several broken limbs and was placed in intensive care for two weeks, before finally being released on Saturday.
She has since undergone five major reconstructive surgeries and will have additional operations in the near future.
Her family has since traveled from the UK to be by her side as she continues to make a recovery, with a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for mounting medical expenses.
However, her attorney, Ben Tobin, said her path to recovery will be a long one. ‘She had just gotten out of a car when the shooting started,’ he explained to The Sun.
‘She ducked down behind another vehicle until the shooting stopped, but then the person whose car she was hiding behind floored it, hit her, ran her over, and dragged her for a couple of blocks.’
Tobin said Bentley had no connection to either party involved in the shooting and was simply an unfortunate bystander.
He added that the recent university graduate thought ‘she was going to die’.
‘For the entire time, she was lying there trying to hold on and do whatever she could so she didn’t end up getting kicked out under the wheel,’ he said.
Tobin noted how video footage appeared to show the driver who hit Bentley was well aware of her presence when he fled the scene, running her over in the process.
‘Based on the video, there’s no way for the individual that hit her and ran her over and dragged her to argue that he did not know that she was underneath the vehicle when he took off,’ he said.
A witness to the horror hit-and-run, Mollie Schwein, said she was woken up by screaming in the early hours of the morning from outside her nearby apartment.
‘I heard him yell, ‘I’ve been shot’, and it became very real,’ she told FirstAlert4.
It’s a sad situation! From the victim’s critical condition to the legal actions against Taylor, the rollercoaster of emotions has been nothing short of a blockbuster movie plot. As investigations continue and safety measures are being emphasized, it’s clear that this case is far from over.
Flip to the next page for photos of Ellie Bentley…