Andriuna “Pinky” Guffie was 29-year-old, pregnant with her third child, and had already pulled over on the shoulder of Interstate 290 East in Chicago to help her cousin. It was around 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 29, 2026. Her cousin had been involved in a prior crash, and Guffie, a devoted mother of two, did not hesitate. She stopped. She got out. She tried to help.
While she was rendering aid, a passing vehicle struck her. The impact threw her approximately 50 feet. The driver did not stop. He left her there, on the highway, to die. Her family later described the selfless act as typical of Guffie’s character. She was the kind of person who would pull over on a busy interstate in the middle of the night to help someone she loved. That was who she was.
The driver was later identified as Quintin King. According to authorities, King admitted that he knew he had hit “something” but decided it was not worth stopping. He was arrested hours later, with evidence of the impact still visible on his vehicle. But according to family reports, he was released, and the case remains under investigation by the Chicago Police Department. The incident occurred on the eastbound lanes of I-290, a heavily traveled corridor where crashes are common and the shoulder is narrow. No other injuries were reported.
Andriuna Guffie was remembered by family and friends as a devoted mother whose energy and kindness touched everyone around her. She was a resident of Chicago, and she was in the process of helping her cousin when her life was taken. Her death has left her two children and her unborn child without their mother. Her family has been left to plan funerals, to comfort children who will never see their mother again, to demand justice for a woman who died trying to help someone else.
The case has drawn significant attention in Chicago. Residents have expressed outrage over the driver’s decision to flee the scene, to leave a pregnant woman dying on the highway because stopping was not worth it. Investigators are reviewing any available surveillance or witness accounts from the eastbound lanes near where Guffie stopped. The probe remains ongoing, and the Chicago Police Department has urged anyone with information or video from the area to come forward.
The community has rallied in mourning. Tributes have highlighted Guffie’s selfless act and the devastating loss for her family. Family members have demanded justice and accountability, while sharing memories of a devoted mother who always put others first. The incident has prompted discussions about highway safety and the importance of stopping to render aid, but for Guffie’s family, those conversations offer little comfort.
Andriuna Guffie was 29 years old. She was a mother, a daughter, a cousin, a friend. She pulled over on Interstate 290 East to help someone she loved, and she never made it home. Her two children are now without their mother. Her unborn child will never take a breath. The driver who hit her knew he had struck something and kept going. He has been arrested, but he has also been released. The investigation continues, but for Guffie’s family, the answers cannot come fast enough.
The highway is open again. The traffic flows as it always has. But for those who loved Andriuna Guffie, the silence is heavy. A young mother, pregnant with her third child, died on the shoulder of a Chicago interstate because she stopped to help. That is who she was. And now she is gone. The community has wrapped itself around her family, offering support and demanding justice. But no amount of support will bring her back. Only the memory of her kindness, her selflessness, her love. Rest in peace, Pinky. You deserved so much more.
