Tragedy Strikes High School Football Community as Caden Nowicki Becomes Third Teen to Die in Sled Crashes This Week After Being Thrown Into Fence
HIGH school football player Caden Nowicki has died of his injuries after being thrown out of a makeshift sled in a horror crash.
The 17-year-old from Texas is the state’s third teen to die in just a matter of days after being blanketed by heavy snow and ice due to Winter Storm Fern.
Caden Nowicki, 17, has died from severe injuries sustained in a sledding crash on Monday
Nowicki was in a kayak being towed by an ATV when he was flung out of the makeshift sled and into a fence
Nowicki, from Ponder, was a senior at Ponder High School and had been enjoying the snow on Monday with friends by riding inside a kayak that was being pulled by an ATV.
But the makeshift sled crashed off the road around 2:30pm throwing Nowicki out and launching him into a fence.
After being airlifted to hospital and placed in the ICU, the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed that he died from his injuries on Thursday.
According to the DPS, the ATV driver, Jackson Long, 22, from Yukon, Oklahoma, was not injured in the crash.
His passenger 18-year-old Austin Erickson was also unharmed in the accident.
Authorities have said that the crash is still being investigated and it is not clear if any charges will be filed.
“With heavy hearts, our #44 Caden Nowicki crossed through the gates into our Heavenly Father[‘s] arms today,” Ponder football coach Marcus Schulz said on social media.
“We all know God hand-selected His inside linebacker.
“Please continue to pray for the Nowicki family,” said Schulz. “Rest easy and fly high, #44.”
Nowicki’s death comes just days after Texan cheerleader Grace Brito, 16, and her soccer star best friend Elizabeth Angle, 16, were killed in a separate sledding crash in Frisco, just 35 miles away from Ponder.
Elizabeth Angle and Grace Brito died from injuries sustained in a separate sledding crash in Texas just days before Nowicki
The girls were in a sled being towed by a Jeep but ended up getting out of control and crashing into a tree.
Angle died shortly after the crash on January 25 and Brito was taken off life support on January 27, two days before Nowicki died from his injuries.
As North Texas was hit with record breaking levels of snow with up to 5 inches recorded in some places, officials quickly warned residents about dangerous sledding practices.
“We love winter weather fun as much as the next person… we get so few opportunities to slide on ice here in North Texas,” the Argyle Police Department said.
“But we have seen an alarming trend here in our Town and region of citizens pulling sleds behind cars and motorized vehicles of other sorts.
“While it can lead to some exhilarating speeds and experiences, it has also led to several cases of individuals being seriously injured or worse in the past few days.”
Storm Fern killed over 60 people as it lashed 13 states with frigid temperatures and heavy snow causing power outages.
Over a third of the nation was put under a state of emergency.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Nowicki family as they “navigate difficult days ahead” and have to pay medical and funeral bills.
Texans made the most of the snow prompting officials to issue warnings about dangerous sledding practices
Parts of Texas were blanketed with record levels of snow when Winter Storm Fern hit the south last weekend
