Ashanti News

The Grammy-winning singer canceled her first scheduled concert in Johannesburg and is heading back to the States following the shocking death of her cousin Quinshae Snead, who had accompanied her to South Africa.

Snead, 20, had been running an errand for the R&B star Saturday before the concert when her car was hit by a drunken 17-year-old driver, who had stolen his mother's car and was driving without a license, according to Johannesburg police.

Police spokesman Wayne Minnaar told the local Star newspaper that the driver's blood-alcohol level was tested and registered 0.23, more than four times the legal limit.

Minnaar says the teen rear-ended Snead's vehicle, causing it to roll over and throwing her and the driver, Ashanti bodyguard Steven Arendse, from the car. Snead was flung into oncoming traffic and killed.

The teen, who was not immediately identified, was arrested, charged with drunk driving and hospitalized for injuries sustained in the crash. He is also under investigation for homicide. Arendse was also hospitalized but is expected to recover.

Local concert promoter Morris Roda says Ashanti and her family were devastated by the news. "It has been very traumatic. They are not coping at all...It has been difficult," Roda told the Star.

Ashanti was in South Africa with her parents, brother and sister. Her publicist was unavailable for comment.

She had been scheduled to join Lauryn Hill and local female artists for a performance Saturday night, but she scrapped the show in the wake of her cousin's death.

An expedited postmortem examination of the body was performed Sunday morning to allow Ashanti and the rest of her family members to take the body back to the United States on Monday. "We received a request to speed up procedures based on grounds of compassion," Professor Hendrik Scholtz, the Gauteng health department's chief specialist of forensic pathology services, told the newspaper.

Ashanti, 25, shot to fame following her smash hit 2002 debut album, Ashanti, which featured the chart-topping single "Foolish." Her second album, Chapter II, was equally successful. She has also dabbled in film, appearing in 2005's Coach Carter and 2004's Bride & Prejudice.