The parents of Atlanta R&B singer Natina Reed, 32, are asking the public for help in determining where she was coming from and where she was going when she was struck and killed by a car on Friday.
In an interview with Channel 2 Action News, Reed’s parents, Tamara Goodridge and Paul Reed, said their daughter was talking on her cell phone and walking along Lawrenceville Highway near Hamilton Road, just north of Lilburn, when she was struck by a car around 10:30 p.m. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 10:59 p.m.
“She was on the phone,” said Reed’s father. “She was walking across the street on the phone, and the next thing she’s on the floor.”
The driver of the red Honda that hit Reed called 911 to report the accident. No charges are pending against the driver.
There are unconfirmed rumors that Reed was kicked out of a car following a drunken argument with the driver.
Reed’s parents and police want to speak with anyone who knows Reed’s whereabouts in the hours before she was killed.
“We’re not looking to be victims,” Tamara Goodridge told Channel 2. “We’re not seeking to be angry, but we do need a resolve.”
Police are awaiting the results of toxicology reports to determine if Reed was impaired by alcohol or drugs as she walked along well-traveled Lawrenceville highway.
Police doubt the theory that Reed was returning home from a store. “It’s kind of a dark lit area,” police spokesman Sgt. Rich Long told the AJC. “There is not really anything in that area that’s open at that time of night, that would be any kind of a draw to a person up there,” he said.
Reed is a former member of the late-1990s R&B group Blaque, known for their hit singles such as “808” and “Bring It All To Me”. Reed also starred with Gabrielle Union in the cheerleader movie Bring It On.
“She was full of life, tenacity and a visionary always a visionary and very good at what she did,” Reed’s mother told Channel 2 Action News.
“Even her acting you could see the light of what she was trying to communicate,” added her father, Paul Reed. “Her acting was so profound that you believed the story.”
Reed was a cousin of the late TLC singer Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, who also died in a car accident in Honduras on April 25, 2002 at age 30. Reed is survived by a 10-year-old son, Tren Brown, by her former husband, rapper Kurupt.
Kurupt, whose formal name is Ricardo Emmanuel Brown, said, “Myself and Tren, Natina’s son, would like to thank everyone for their love and support during this tragic time. This is a tremendous loss to our family. Natina was a great person and I wish everyone had the opportunity to meet her and know her as I did.”
Reed’s parents said they are working on plans for a public wake and funeral for Reed set for Friday and Saturday. Additionally, Reed’s parents are creating a foundation to benefit Natina’s 10-year-old son Tren.
