GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A woman who was hit by a truck while riding an electric bike on May 20 died from her injuries, the Grand Rapids Police Department said on Wednesday.
On Thursday, 28-year-old Bennautica Knowles's fiancé, Deondre Johnson, said he's remembering her as a kind spirit.
"I lost her all of a sudden and it's just so bad because if I hadn't told her to take the scooter to the bank, I should have just called her a Lyft or something. I don't know," said Johnson.
Johnson said she was just starting to change her life for the better.
"She had her ups and downs and, you know, in life struggling with addiction and whatnot. She was 110 days clean, she was getting her stuff on the ball…I really thought we had a lot more time together" said Johnson.
On May 20, Knowles was riding an electric bike eastbound on 44th Street around 10 a.m. when a truck turning from Plymouth Avenue hit her. She had four fractures in her skull and died the following day from her injuries.
"She was hit by the back of the truck, the truck ran over her, she had to be dead because when we got to the hospital, she was hooked up to all the machines and the doctor basically told me that day that Monday afternoon she won't she won't be walking about the hospital," Johnson said. "If she was to make some type of miraculous recovery she would just be a vegetable. She has no brain nothing, nothing."
For now, Grand Rapids police continue to investigate the cause of the accident, as Johnson plans for a funeral.
"I'm just grieving and going through my own thing," said Johnson.
A GoFundMe was created by Knowles's best friend, Antonia Reynolds, to help pay for her funeral. The link to donate can be found here.
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