PONDER TEXAS, 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 accident.
Caden Nowicki, 17, a Ponder High School senior and football player, passed away Thursday after being seriously injured in a sledding-related incident on Monday in Denton County, according to school officials.
Texas DPS said troopers responded to a crash around 2:25 p.m. on Jan. 26 in the 400 block of Amyx Hill Road. Authorities reported that an all-terrain vehicle was towing a kayak being used as a sled when the kayak left the roadway. DPS said the passenger was ejected and struck a fence.
Nowicki 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 to support 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 been planned for 6 p.m. Friday night at First Baptist Church Ponder, located at 101 S TX-156.
Nowicki was remembered by classmates and teammates as a leader both on and off the field, with the school community rallying around his family. A GoFundMe raised more than $72,000 for the Nowicki family as of Friday evening.
His passing comes just days after another sledding tragedy in Frisco, where two 16-year-old girls died after a sled struck a curb and collided with a tree.
The back-to-back incidents have prompted officials to warn about the dangers of sledding during unusual winter weather, especially in communities not accustomed to heavy snowfall.
