WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A family in Waterford Township is mourning after a mother and her two children died in a car wreck over the weekend.
Police say on Saturday around 8:30 p.m., 32-year-old Jenee Suddeth was driving on Lippincott Road in Elba Township. Police say as Suddeth tried to pass a slower-moving vehicle, she ran into a guardrail before her vehicle rolled and landed in a nearby creek.
Suddeth died at the scene. Her two sons, 9-year-old Nikko and 12-year-old Mateo, who were in the car, died later at a nearby hospital.
"You hear about these stories all the time and people say it’s like a bad dream but until you’re actually there and walking into the hospital, it’s worse than a bad dream," said Monica Hawes, who is Jenee Suddeth's mother. "For two days, I haven’t been able to pray. I had to tell my pastor I can’t pray, please pray for us."
Hawes says she held out hope police had made a mistake when delivering the news of her daughter and grandsons passing until the very last second. Hawes says her daughter is an only child, making the loss even more difficult to cope with.
"My husband said when are things going to be normal? It’ll never be normal again," a tearful Krissy Hyde said of her niece Jenee Suddeth and her sons. "I'm not grieving for Jenee, not grieving for Mateo, not grieving Nikko because I know where they’re at and it’s a place we all want to be. It’s just us that are left here to try to move on and fill a void that is so big because she is so big: her personality, her laugh, her smile."
The victims family says on the day of the crash, the three were on their way back from hanging out with friends at the pool that evening.
The family told 7 News Detroit Jenee Suddeth, Mateo and Nikko all had their own unique talents. They say Jenee Suddeth was an incredible singer, even publishing her own album years ago entitled "My Name is Jenee".
"On her album, she recorded a song called 'I believe'. My dad was dealing with cancer. I was just dealing with stuff, you know. I listened to that song every day and I got the chance to tell her that that song helped me so much," Jenee Suddeth's uncle Charlie Hyde said as he fought through tears.
The Hawes and Hyde family says Mateo, taking after his mother's musical inclination, began playing drums at a young age and later the guitar. His family says he taught himself how to play both.
"We would be sitting down in the main living area and we would hear him blasting the guitar because he had it always plugged in. He was so good at the guitar. He was so good at it," Devyn Hyde recalled of his cousin Mateo.
The Hawes and Hydes family says 9-year-old Nikko was also a gifted gymnast, constantly practicing new flips.
"Six weeks ago, (Nikko) started trying to do his back tuck and first, he tried it on the bed and he got it on the bed. So we went outside and when he tried, he just couldn’t do it. I kept on encouraging him until he got it and he never got it and I just wish he could have gotten it," Demi Hyde said as she remembered her cousin. "I just can't believe he's gone. Now that he’s gone, I know that he’s definitely going to go everywhere with me and I know he’s in a better place now."
The family says Demi and Nikko were more like siblings as the two were inseparable. The family continued sharing sweet stories with 7 News Detroit throughout the afternoon.
“Morgan was teaching Nikko how to make everybody breakfast and I remember I came over here and I was like 'Nikko, let’s make pancakes.' Man, we burned probably 20 pancakes making TikToks,” Gracie Hyde said. “And those were the best pancakes I think I’ll probably ever have. It’s the last time that I talked to my Nikko too.”
The family says it's memories like this that they're now clinging to but it’s the light the three brought into every room that will be missed most. It's a light also left at Pontiac City Hall where Jenee Suddeth worked as the mayor's executive assistant.
"She was just such a wonderful, effervescent, beautiful person who had a kind word for everyone, who just had a radiance about her that lifted the spirits of those around her," Mayor Tim Greimel said. "Our prayers are with her entire family, especially with Monica, her mom. Just a really, really horrific time. Words can’t express it."
As family works to come to terms with their new reality, they say they’re taking a bit of solace knowing their three angels are together.
"I’ll never get to see my grandkids. Jenee is an only child. Those were my only two grandchildren. I’m blessed that my sister shared all of her children with me and I get to share her grandchildren because I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know if I could make it through without them," Monica Hawes said of her daughter and grandsons."Our lives will never be the same without you, Jenee, Mateo and Nikko, but we know where you’re at and we know we’ll see you again. We know we will. Lord, just help us get through this."
Jenee Suddeth and her boys were heavily involved at their church Mount Zion of Clarkston. Their family asks anyone that wants to help them in this time to donate to the church in honor of Jenee Suddeth and the boys. More information on how to donate can be found on the church's website.
The family is also asking for prayers as they work to push through the challenging days ahead.
