What happened to Minnie from Little Women: Atlanta?

The sixth season of the Lifetime reality show premiered in late January this year. The series follows Shirlene ‘Ms. Juicy’ King, Tiffany Monie Cashette, Abria Green, and twins Amanda and Andrea Salinas pursuing their dreams as they juggle between friendships and relationships.

The cast kicked it off with a tribute to their late fellow castmate Ashley Ross, lovingly referred to as Minnie who died in a tragic car crash last April. They remembered Minnie in the special introduction to the episode.

So much has changed after we began filming this season of Little Women: Atlanta. We lost our sister Minnie in a tragic accident, and our lives will never be the same. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Monie (@moniecashette)

The ladies hoped fans of the show would follow their journey as they faced the tragedy together and celebrated the friendship and sisterhood they had with Ross. At the end of the tribute, all the ladies gathered and expressed their love for Ross, saying in unison, “We love you, Minnie.”

The Tragic Accident 

Ross was one of the founding cast members of the reality show that chronicles the lives of women with dwarfism. With the show, she hoped to make people live through their lives and the everyday struggles they faced.  

But in April 2020, Ross’s management team announced that she had passed away following a hit-and-run car accident. The heartbreaking news was confirmed on Ross’s Instagram page, and fans and friends alike came together to mourn the loss. Ross’s Little Women: Atlanta co-star Amanda Salinas shared an emotional tribute on Instagram. 

According to Ross’s personal publicist Liz Dixson, the reality star was grievously wounded when her car collided with another near Old National Hwy in Atlanta. She succumbed to her injuries the following day.

Ross Was at Fault

Though the initial announcement claimed she was the victim of a fatal hit and run, the reports were disputed when a preliminary police investigation found that Ross was at fault in the car crash that took her life.

A crash report obtained by TMZ based on eyewitness testimony and the responding officer’s observation painted a different picture.

According to the report, Ross was traveling south on one side of the highway when she lost control of her car, causing her to jerk the steering wheel right. It sent her off-road briefly before she violently veered back to the left on the opposite lane and collided with another vehicle.

Though the other driver in the fatal accident was transported to the hospital, Ross was reportedly unresponsive. There was no autopsy performed, and it was reported that the cause of death was blunt force trauma from the accident.

The report noted that neither Ross nor the driver was administered drug or alcohol tests. That said, authorities determined that this was enough to rule that Ross was at fault for the accident.