A Michigan teenager who was killed in a horrific car crash after trying to jump a steep hill told her friend to slow down seconds before she died last November.
Nevaeh Downs, 18, of Grand Rapids, died in the collision with her best friend Ella Vece, who was 19 at the time, who was driving Downs’ car at the time of the crash.
According to an incident report obtained by Target 8, the two men were attempting to jump the steepest hill in Plainfield Township.
In January of this year, two months after the fatal crash, prosecutors charged Vece, 20, with reckless driving causing death, which is a felony.
Earlier this month, she pleaded no contest to a charge of moving causing death, which is a one-year misdemeanor — she will be sentenced in June.
According to an incident report obtained by the outlet, the two men were attempting to jump the steepest hill in the city of Jericho.
Nevaeh Downs, 18, of Grand Rapids, died in the collision last year while her friend was behind the wheel of her car.
The event data recorder inside the Volkswagen Jetta showed the vehicle was traveling at more than 100 mph when it went over the hill.
Investigators who searched his cellphone found a video of Downs, right, who had recorded the two men, seen here, as they ran toward the hill.
The report said Downs, in his final moments, documented Vece’s attempt to get air on the slope and the sudden fall.
Investigators who searched his cellphone discovered video Downs recorded as they ran up the hill.
The deputy who viewed the footage wrote: “The video is filmed from the passenger seat with the girls screaming and laughing as they appear to take off over a small hill south of the crash scene.
“As they continue driving, (Downs) appears to tell (Vece) to “slow down a little” before they get to the large hill at the accident scene.
“As the vehicle goes over the hill, it encounters headlights which seem to surprise the driver.
“The car appears to veer to the right before it appears as if the vehicle is leaving the road. The video then ends.
According to the outlet, Vece then told cops that she lost control of the vehicle after swerving to avoid the oncoming vehicle that was close to the center line.
Downs’ mother told the outlet that she has since forgiven Vece and does not want her to be criminally charged, appearing in court to support her.
Toxicology tests found no evidence that alcohol or drugs played a role in the crash, other than excessive speed, according to the report.
Earlier this month, Vece, seen here, pleaded no contest to a violation of the law resulting in death, which constitutes a one-year misdemeanor – she will be sentenced in June.
In an online obituary, Downs was remembered as “thoughtful, strong and caring.”
The officer who viewed the footage said it was difficult to see the exact position of the oncoming vehicle, writing that it “did not appear to be directly facing.”
The vehicle hit a tree with such force that it “torn off the entire passenger side”, with most of the vehicle ending up 70 meters from the tree.
Toxicology tests found no evidence that alcohol or drugs played a role in the crash, other than excessive speed, according to the report.
The event data recorder inside the Volkswagen Jetta showed the vehicle was traveling at more than 100 mph when it went over the hill.
In a 911 call, a woman can be heard telling police: “I live right outside of Jericho and I heard a huge boom. It looks like a car hit a tree. There are people screaming.
Niki Feldkamp, a nearby resident, told the outlet: “The passenger seat and the driver’s seat were in two different places on the road.
“An explosion is the only way I can describe it. Right away, my husband said to me, “What is that?” “I’m like ‘a car accident’, I could just hear the metal.”
After rushing outside, she said she could “hear a girl screaming for help” and after going to the site, she found the woman whose screams she had heard.
Feldkamp added: “She started asking, ‘Where’s my friend?’ We were like, “What is she talking about?”
“I thought there were multiple cars because there were so many wrecks on the road. So, I walked a little further and the friend was under the other part of the car.
According to an incident report obtained by the outlet, the two men were attempting to jump the steepest hill in the city of Jericho.
Vece, seen here in court earlier this month, is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
Downs is the sixth person to die in five fatal summit accidents since 1966.
Feldkamp said: “It was just a horrible, horrible scene. To think they’re just young girls probably having fun.
“And the girl who survived was so scared.” She was screaming about her friend and “Where is she?” It was just… it was heartbreaking.
According to records viewed by Target 8, Downs was the sixth person to die in five fatal summit accidents since 1966.
There have also been at least four non-fatal hill jumping accidents since 2004, including one that resulted in serious injuries in 2022.
Vece’s attorney, Keary Sawyer, said, “I think the case should be dismissed.” Or at least reduce it to a misdemeanor or something that won’t make it a double tragedy. Because we have already lost a young woman.
Sawyer is lobbying the Kent County Highway Commission to make the hill safer, saying it is too steep, narrow and too tempting for teenagers.
In an online obituary, Downs was remembered as “thoughtful, strong and caring.”
He said: “We can all agree that Nevaeh left us too soon. However, we can all agree that the impact she left on us will last a lifetime.
She had graduated earlier last year from Northview High School, where she was a dedicated swimmer who enjoyed dancing, soccer, lacrosse and mentoring young children.
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