GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A 19-year-old woman died early Sunday morning after the driver of the car she was riding in led Snellville Police on a high-speed chase that ended in a deadly crash on Scenic Highway in Lawrenceville.
Naveah McGowan didn’t want to go out Saturday night, her family says. But when a friend asked her to come along, she said yes. Hours later, she was tragically killed.
“It is unbelievable. She was 19. She thought she was just going out to hang out with friends,” said Tajjone McElya, Naveah’s sister.
Naveah didn’t even know the driver, according to the family.
Around 2:30 a.m., investigators say 19-year-old Quintavias Martin from South Carolina sped away from Snellville Police during a traffic stop. Neveah and two other passengers were in the car.
“Everybody in the car was asking, ‘Please just stop the car,’” McElya said.
He didn’t stop, according to police.
The car hit a median, then slammed into a mailbox and a utility pole before flipping several times, according to police.
“They all took their seatbelts off. They were all just saying like hey if the car stops we have to get out of this man’s car at this point,” McElya said, after she spoke with survivors.
Two passengers survived with serious injuries. Naveah was pronounced dead at the scene.
She was an aspiring hair stylist who worked hard and was saving for her first car and apartment, according to family.
“Light of the room. Anytime Naveah was on the scene she didn’t judge people at all. You could come to her as yourself. Neveah was just loving,” McElya said.
Martin remains in jail facing three felonies, including weapons charges, according to Snellville Police.
Now, the family wants young people to learn from the tragedy.
“Please, please watch who you get in the vehicle with,” McElya said.
The family is raising money on GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses for Naveah.
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