Things were happening fast for 21-year-old Ke’Anna Shields Bentley. But that was exactly the way she wanted it.
On April 29, she had married her high school sweetheart, who had enlisted in the Navy in February. On June 11, Bentley would graduate as a medical assistant. And later that month, she would give birth to a daughter the couple had already named Za’Riya.
“My baby had herself together,” Angela Shields told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “She knew she was going where she wanted. She had everything lined up in order.
As she stood at a bus stop Thursday near the intersection of Pryor Road and Amal Drive in southwest Atlanta, Bentley was struck and killed by the driver of a Toyota pickup truck, according to police. Bentley and her unborn baby died at the scene.
On Friday, Bentley’s family struggled for answers and investigators returned to scene of the deadly crash.
Investigators believe Eddie Haynie, 57, was driving a 2003 Toyota Tundra northbound on Pryor Road when he failed to stop at the stop sign at Amal Drive, according to Officer Kim Jones with Atlanta police.
Haynie struck a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban and kept going, Jones said, running off the road and striking Bentley as she stood on the sidewalk.
Bentley had been headed to the United Medical and Business Institute in East Point to pick up her cap and gown, her mother said.
The Toyota stopped in a group of trees, and Haynie was unresponsive and sitting in the passenger side floor board when officers arrived, Jones said in an emailed statement. He was taken by ambulance to Grady Memorial Hospital in unknown condition, police said Friday.
“There was no evidence that the vehicle did any braking or that there was any steering input from the suspect,” Jones said.
It was not known late Friday whether a medical emergency caused Haynie to drive erratically. No criminal charges had been filed, Jones said.
After learning of his wife’s death, Quentis Bentley was granted emergency leave from the Navy. He returned to Atlanta from Texas on Friday, but was too distraught to talk, his father, Dennis Bentley, said Friday afternoon. Dennis Bentley officiated the wedding for his son and new daughter-in-law.
“Quent” and Ke’Anna had met while students at Carver High School, where he was a standout athlete and she was her class valedictorian.
Wearing jersey No. 3, Bentley was a linebacker for the football team, and as a senior, he was an honorable mention the AJC all-state team. Ke’Anna, a year ahead in school, focused on academics and volunteer work during high school.
In 2012, she was one of seven City of Atlanta students chosen as “Global Youth Ambassadors” and awarded a study trip to China. She also had traveled to Brazil for a study program, her mother said.
The following year, Ke’Anna was acknowledged by GivingPoint, a volunteer service organization, for completing 518 community service hours, the most among dozens of metro Atlanta students. An AJC Cup winner for being an outstanding student, Ke’Anna gave a speech to her classmates in the Class of 2013.
“My baby was smart,” Shields said while discussing her daughter’s accomplishments.
She was also happy. The day after her wedding, Ke’Anna sent a text message to her husband, and he replied.
“I love you Mr. Bentley,” she wrote, followed by a heart.
“I love you too Mrs. Bentley,” he replied.
The new Mrs. Bentley had liked the exchange so much, she took a picture of it on her camera and put it at the top of her Facebook page as if to shout her excitement. Her last Twitter posts, both on May 3, overflowed with excitement.
“2016 has been GREAT to me! I’m now married, about to welcome my baby girl and graduate in three weeks,” she posted. “I’m blessed in the most humble way.”
A vigil will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday at the crash site. Funeral arrangements were pending late Friday.
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