Ashanti Mourns The Accidental Death Of Her Cousin
Monday April 17, 2006 @ 06:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Ashanti

R&B star Ashanti Douglas cancelled a performance in Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday night following the tragic death of her cousin/personal assistant after a fatal car accident.

Quinshae Snead, 20, died in an accident caused by a 17-year-old who had allegedly stolen his mother's car and was driving drunk without a licence. His vehicle hit Snead's car from behind and she was thrown from inside and run over.

The 17-year-old was arrested and charged with drunk driving, while a charge of culpable homicide is being investigated.

Ashanti was in Johannesburg with her parents, sister, brother and cousin, and was preparing to perform a concert with Lauryn Hill and local female artists. Snead was on her way back to the singer's hotel room to collect some items for the show that had been left behind when the accident occurred.

Concert promoter Morris Roda told The Star newspaper that the devastated singer will fly back to the U.S. with her cousin's body on Monday. The two women were said to have been very close and had lived together.

"It has been very traumatic," said Roda of the family. "They are not coping at all."

Ashanti has sold six million albums, won a Grammy Award for her self-titled debut album in 2002 and has collaborated with Jennifer Lopez, Ja Rule and Fat Joe. She has appeared in the films Coach Carter and John Tucker Must Die.

—Eva Lampert