ST. LOUIS — A woman who was dragged underneath a stranger's car for several blocks at the Grove speaks on camera for the first time Friday since her accident in February.
Her name: Ellie Bentley.
She's a United Kingdom native who moved to St. Louis for work and love, discussing the night it happened and what comes next with 5 On Your Side's Annie Krall.
Bentley broke both of her legs after getting hit by a car on Feb. 25 and then dragged underneath it for about three blocks near the Platypus Bar in The Grove neighborhood.
"My right arm pretty much, got rubbed off across the street," Bentley said. "(My arm) got pulled, my elbow got dislocated and I had less than half of my forearm left. I'd severed all the arteries."
The 23-year-old is originally from Bingham, U.K., and moved to St. Louis to be with her now ex-boyfriend City SC soccer player, Indiana Vassilav.
A relationship and an evening, she can't easily forget.
On Feb. 25 at about 3:00 a.m., a shooting near Manchester Road and South Taylor Avenue wouldn't just change the lives of those involved, but of Bentley as well, hiding from the shots.
"One of the bullets went past me," Bentley said. "So, I obviously ran."
Ducking for cover between two cars, there was a driver in the car behind her whom she allegedly locked eyes with as she crouched down for protection.
"The driver, never asked me to move out the way, never ushered to the side or anything," Bentley said. "He looks at me and just completely puts his foot to the gas. Never takes his foot off the gas, just accelerating and accelerating."
St. Louis police say that the driver was Dionte Taylor.
"I'm sandwiched between the floor and the bottom of the car," Bentley said. "My hope initially was that if I curl tight into a ball, as flat as I could perhaps I would fall under the car. I hoped and I prayed and unfortunately, that did not happen."
After several blocks, Bentley was thrown from the car in front of Platypus Bar.
"I'm very lucky about that," Bentley said.
Employees of the bar called 911.
At this point, "I'm very aware I'm bleeding out I can feel it," Bentley said. "I encourage them to lie on me and wait for the ambulances."
Once she was in the hospital, is when one of her friends, Lauren Coleman heard what happened.
"I was just so upset," Coleman told 5 On Your Side. "It makes me a little bit emotional to talk about. I was just so worried for her. It's just a lot."
Through her tears, Coleman said she is still amazed at how Ellie has bounced back to get her professional life back as a graduated physics and math student overseas.
"When you look at the photos of you and you're at graduation or you're in these beautiful ball gowns, I'm sure when you look at some of those photos, does that stir any memories of 'Oh my goodness I would have never thought this is what my life looks like?'" Krall asked.
"I look back at where I was then and the trajectory I saw my life traveling in and obviously someone tried to take that from me," Bentley said. "Although they weren't successful. I guarantee that I'm still going to achieve those same goals and possibly do better. I'm going to be more motivated."
Bentley and Coleman plan to stay in St. Louis and move in together despite all her memories of the accident.
When Krall asked why she wanted to stay in Missouri after everything that happened, Bentley said, "I've been amazed by the warmth and just the sense of community that I've felt here."
"I love St. Louis for that," Bentley said. "I love the arts. I love the culture. I love the people."
Bentley now faces more than $1 million in medical bills her attorney Ben Tobin said. A managing partner at Pratt & Tobin Personal Injury Lawyers, which focuses on plaintiffs' personal injury cases added he is limited to the money he's able to get back for Bentley based on the value of Taylor's car insurance.
"That's not even going to put a dent in what her damages actually are in this case," Tobin said. "No amount of money is ever going to make her whole."
As Bentley continues to heal, she is planning to have several more surgeries, especially on her right hand and arm which she still doesn't have use of.
Those surgeries can last up to 11 hours Bentley said which may happen over the next two years.
If you'd like to help contribute to Bentley's medical expenses there is a GoFundMe page that you can click here and donate toward.