12 March 2024 , 11:23
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The British ex-girlfriend of an American football player has been left fighting for her life after being dragged under a car while trying to flee the scene of a shooting in the US.
Ellie Bentley, 22, spent two weeks in intensive care getting life-saving treatment for the injuries she sustained when she was dragged two blocks by the hit-and-run driver. She had been getting out of her car on February 25 near her home in St Louis, Missouri, when she was caught in the crossfire as an "unlucky bystander."
Ellie had only moved to the US last year. She ended up with badly broken limbs following the incident.
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She had just been getting out her car (Ellie Bentley/Facebook)A 25-year-old was also injured in the gun battle which police were alerted to at around 3am. Ellie was originally from Birmingham and recently graduated from the University of York in maths and physics.
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She moved to the US with her then-boyfriend, former Aston Villa player Indiana Vassilev, when he transferred to MLS side St Louis FC. Speaking to the US Sun, her attorney, Ben Tobin, a partner at Pratt & Tobin personal injury lawyers, said she still has "a long road of recovery."
Ellie moved to the US with her then-boyfriend, Indiana Vassilev (Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)Describing the incident, he said: "She had just gotten out of a car when the shooting started. 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."
Ben said Ellie hadn't known anyone else involved in the incident and that she was an "unlucky bystander." He also said the person who hit Ellie in the car "knew she was there" when he hit her.
Ellie Bentley, 22, from Birmingham (Instagram)Police say the incident began when a group of people tried to get into the wrong car thinking it belonged to one of them. The driver, a 35-year-old man, then shot at the group.
Ben added: "Based on the video footage, 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."
Friends have launched a fundraiser for Ellie (Ellie Bentley/Facebook)The driver who struck Ellie was arrested by police but the shooter is still at large. Ellie's family flew from the UK to be with her while friends set up a GoFundMe appeal to raise money for her medical costs.
Ben continued: "She was pretty sure she was going to die as she was dragged underneath the vehicle. "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."
Ellie says she now can't move my legs or my right arm.