ST. LOUIS (AP) - A year after a 12-year-old St. Louis girl was struck by a police SUV and later died, her family is dealing with another tragedy - the death of her mother.
Akeelah Jackson died in November 2019, about a month after a St. Louis County police SUV struck her as the officer tried to catch up to a suspicious car.
Akeelah’s mother, 39-year-old Melissa Bassett, was driving a car in the city’s Baden neighborhood just after midnight on Oct. 16 when another car hit hers. She died Thursday.
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Relatives confirmed to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Bassett was Akeelah’s mother but declined further comment.
The officer driving the SUV that struck Akeelah, Preston Marquart, was charged in April with second-degree involuntary manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty and the case is still pending.
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