Haunting last words of Michigan teenager killed in horror 100mph car crash while trying to jump hills - as her best friend, 20, is charged over death

A Michigan teenager who was killed in a horrific road crash after attempting 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, driving Downs' car at the time of the crash. 

According to an incident report obtained by Target 8, the two had been trying 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 moving violation 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 had been trying to jump the steepest hill in the town 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 travelling at more than 100mph when it went over the hill 

Investigators who went through her cellphone found video Downs, right, had recorded the two, seen here, as they raced toward the hill

The report said that Downs, in her last moments, had been documenting Vece's attempt to catch air on the incline and sudden drop. 

Investigators who went through her cellphone found video Downs had recorded as they raced toward the hill.

The deputy who viewed the footage wrote: 'The video is filmed from the passenger seat with the girls yelling and laughing as they appear to go airborne over a smaller hill south of the crash scene.

'As they continue driving, (Downs) appears to tell (Vece) to ‘slow down a little bit’ before coming to the large hill at the crash scene.

'As the vehicle crests the hill they are met with headlights that appear to startle the driver. 

'The car appears to veer to the right before it sounds like the vehicle runs off the road. The video then ends.'

According to the outlet, Vece went on to tell cops that she lost control of the vehicle after swerving to avoid the oncoming vehicle that was close to the centerline.

Downs' mom told the outlet that she had since forgiven Vece and did not want her charged criminally, appearing in court to support her.  

Toxicology tests found no evidence that alcohol or drugs had played an role in the crash except excessive speed, according to the report

Earlier this month Vece, seen here, pleaded no contest to a moving violation causing death which is a one-year misdemeanor - she will be sentenced in June

In an online obituary, Downs was recalled as being 'thoughtful, strong and caring'

The deputy who watched the footage said it was difficult to see the oncoming vehicle's exact position, writing it 'did not appear to be directly head on'. 

The vehicle hit a tree with such force that it 'sheared off the entire passenger side,' most of the vehicle ended up 70 yards from the tree.

Toxicology tests found no evidence that alcohol or drugs had played an role in the crash except excessive speed, according to the report. 

The event data recorder inside the Volkswagen Jetta showed the vehicle was traveling at more than 100mph when it went over the hill. 

In a 911 call, a woman can be heard telling officers: 'I live just off Jericho and I heard a huge boom. It sounds like a car hit a tree. There's people screaming.' 

Nearby resident Niki Feldkamp told the outlet: 'The passenger seat and the driver’s seat were in two different spots on the road.

'An explosion is like the only way I can describe it. Right away, my husband was like, ‘What is that?' 'I'm like, 'a car accident', I could just hear the metal.'

After she rushed outside, she said she could 'hear a girl screaming help' and after making her way to the site 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 was so much wreckage on the road. So, I walked up 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 had been trying to jump the steepest hill in the town of Jericho

Vece, seen here in court earlier this month, is to be sentenced later this year 

Downs was the sixth person to die in five fatal crashes on the peak 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, she was just so scared. She was screaming about her friend and ‘Where is she?’ It was just — it was heartbreaking.'

According to records seen by Target 8, Downs was the sixth person to die in five fatal crashes on the peak since 1966.  

There have also been at least four nonfatal hill jumping crashes since 2004, including one which ended in serious injury in 2022. 

Vece's lawyer Keary Sawyer said: 'I think the case should be dismissed. Or at least reduce it to a misdemeanor or something that’s not going to make this a double tragedy. Because we’ve already lost one young lady.'

Sawyer is pushing the Kent County Road Commission to make the hill safer, saying it is too steep, narrow and too tempting for teens. 

In an online obituary, Downs was recalled as being 'thoughtful, strong and caring'.

It 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 loved dancing, soccer, lacrosse and mentoring younger kids.