Caden Nowicki, Ponder High School senior football player passes away dies after sledding accident that killed two other teens in North Texas amid unseasonable heavy snow which had led to teens rushing to enjoy the outdoors.
A high school student involved in a sledding crash in Ponder, North Texas earlier this week has died, just days after two other local teens were killed in a similar sledding accident.
Caden Nowicki, 17, a Ponder ISD High School senior passed away on Thursday after being seriously injured in a sledding-related incident Monday in Denton County, according to school officials.
According to Texas DPS, troopers responded to a crash at about 2:25 p.m. on Jan. 26 in the 400 block of Amyx Hill Road. The department said that an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) was towing a kayak being used as a sled when the kayak left the roadway. DPS said the passenger inside the kayak was ejected and struck a fence, WFAA reported.
Ponder senior and football player sledding accident tragedy
DPS identified the kayak passenger as Nowicki, who was flown to Medical City Denton with serious injuries. The ATV driver, 22-year-old Jackson Long of Yukon, Oklahoma, and an ATV passenger, 18-year-old Austin Erickson, were not injured.
In a letter sent earlier this week Ponder ISD Superintendent James Hill described Nowicki as ‘an outstanding young man who is loved by many’ and said the district is collecting food gift cards for the family. Donations can be dropped off at the Ponder High School front office or athletic office once school reopens.
A vigil and prayer service has also been planned for 6.pm, Friday night at First Baptist Church Ponder, 101 S TX-156, Ponder.
Nowicki was remembered by teammates and classmates as a leader on and off the field, with the school community rallying around his family in the days after the crash. A GoFundMe raised more than $72,000 for the Nowicki family as of Friday evening.
Back to back sledding tragedies in Texas
The teen’s tragic passing follows another sledding incident on Monday involving a Frisco ISD student, who died after police say a sled the 16-year-old was riding on struck a curb and collided with a tree. Her friend, also 16 and a student at Wakeland High School, remained in critical condition until she too passed away from severe trauma injuries on Tuesday.
At the time a 16-year-old boy was driving a Jeep-Wrangler, which was pulling the sled. Similarly it remained unclear if authorities would now pursue charges against the 16-year-old along with ATV driver, 22-year-old, ATV driver, Jackson Long.
The back to back tragedies has led to officials warning about the dangers of sledding, especially in a community not used to heavy snowfall in the wake of recent winter storms hitting two thirds of the U.S.
