ATLANTA — A heartbroken metro Atlanta family is asking for help as police try to find whoever took their loved one's life.
Atlanta Police said 32-year-old Shantea Reeves was killed overnight on Sunday when she was hit on the shoulder of I-20 eastbound just past Moreland Avenue by a car that was allegedly street racing.
"She was my angel. She was an angel that was helping people," Della Reeves said in an exclusive interview with 11Alive.
Shantea was her daughter. Through her heartbreak, her one wish is to find whoever took her life. The young mom leaves behind her 11-year-old granddaughter, Claire Reeves. She knows her mom should still be alive and says she wishes she had just been left paralyzed.
"I just wish I could've done more for her," Claire said in tears while she held her grandmother's hand
Days before the accident, Shantea was giving out ice cream for Mayfield. Her family explained that she did the same that Saturday before being hit overnight. They said she was trying to get home and didn't call for a ride.
"The way she went is not fair. Her body is in pieces and not intact. It hurts so bad," Della said.
When the family went to the medical examiner's office, they wouldn't let them see her body. Now they want to know who was behind the wheel of the black Mustang that left her in the road. Della said she was hit several times after the original impact.
"Why not stop? Pull over, check on that person, make sure they're out of harm's way," Della said.
Police said the investigation into what happened is ongoing but that the black Mustang that hit Shantea didn't stay, and they still haven't made any arrests.
"Taking somebody's life is bad in general, but taking somebody's life that you know nothing about and not even stopping to care and feel a little bit of emotion is, like, horrible. She was kind, amazing, smart, intelligent. Every aspect of her showed that she was truly God's child," Claire said.
The family's angel is gone. That's why they need to know who took her life.
"I need this for people to help me find who did this to her, for the justice, for people to understand. We want to know who did this. We want justice. We want her name to never be forgotten," Della said.
Right now, her family is planning her funeral for late August as they work to get Claire enrolled in school. If you'd like to help, you can donate here.
The family said police were only able to identify Shantea by her tattoos and the ID she had on her. If you know anything or saw anything early Sunday morning, contact Atlanta Police. Again, detectives sid the car that hit her was a black Mustang.