What happened to Ellie Bentley? Football star Indiana Vassilev's ex critically injured in St Louis hit-and-run shooting

Ellie Bentley, a former partner of football star Indiana Vassilev, who was critically injured in a hit-and-run shooting in Missouri on February 25, 2024, regained consciousness last week, as reported.

According to preliminary reports, Bentley was struck by a vehicle and dragged for two blocks after a shooting broke out in St. Louis. Reports suggest that she was getting out of a car when she accidentally got caught in the crossfire. She then hid behind the vehicle that dragged her for two blocks.

The former partner of Indiana Vassilev was rushed to the hospital, where she stayed in an ICU for two weeks and regained consciousness on Saturday, March 9, 2024, as per The Sun.

Ellie Bentley moved to the United States from Bingham with her then-boyfriend, but in 2018, Vassilev moved to the United Kingdom to join the Villa youth set-up, as per The Sun.

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The Ellie Bentley incident: St. Louis grapples with hit-and-run and shooting

On February 25, 2024, Ellie Bentley, the former partner of football star Indiana Vassilev, was rushed to the hospital with near-fatal injuries, as per reports.

The 22-year-old British woman was reportedly stepping out of her car near her home in St. Louis, Missouri, where she got accidentally caught up in a shooting. Explaining the scene, Ellie's attorney, Ben Tobin, said that she had hidden behind a vehicle to save herself. The person whose car she was hiding behind hit her, ran over her, and dragged her two blocks, as per The Sun. 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."

A representative image of a gun battle faced by Ellie (Image via Getty)

Speaking to The Sun, Tobin, a partner at Pratt & Tobin personal injury lawyers, said Ellie had faced a long road to recovery. She was in the ICU for two weeks and gained consciousness on Saturday, March 9, 2024. Through her attorney, Ellie told The Sun,

"Like most 22-year-olds, I enjoyed dance, going to the gym, and yoga, and devoted two-to-three hours a day to physical fitness. Now I can't move my legs or my right arm."

Ellie Bentley recently graduated from the University of York with majors in mathematics and physics. According to The Sun, she and her ex-boyfriend, Indiana Vassilev, moved to the US when he joined St. Louis FC.

Ellie suffered several fractured limbs due to the man driving the vehicle she hid, who dragged her to two blocks. According to Tobin, the man knew she was there when he ran over her. As per The Sun, police in St. Louis said they had arrested the man driving that vehicle. Tobin told the publication,

"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."

A representative image of the arrest made by the police (Image via Gettty)

Ellie's attorney also suggested that she thought that she was going to die underneath the car, as he said,

"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."

The investigation continues; however, as the publication shows, Ellie Bentley's family has set up a GoFundMe appeal to cover her medical expenses.