A Ponder High School student who was critically injured three days ago during a sledding accident has died, Marcus Schulz, Ponder ISD’s athletic director and head football coach announced Thursday in a social media post.
Caden Nowicki, 17, died shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday, according to the social post.
“With heavy hearts our #44 Caden Nowicki crossed through the gates into our heavenly Fathers arms today,” Schulz’s post said. “Please continue to pray for the Nowicki family.” He did not immediately respond to an email Thursday from The Dallas Morning News.
Nowicki was a senior at Ponder and played on the school’s varsity football team as a running back and linebacker.
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Ponder First Baptist Church said on Facebook that it would hold a memorial service Friday at 6 p.m. for Nowicki, his relatives and well wishers who want to honor him.
“Caden is an outstanding young man who is loved by many,” said Superintendent James Hill in a written statement issued Tuesday.
The district is collecting food gift cards for the family, the statement said. The donations can be left at the high school’s front office or athletic office once school reopens.
A GoFundMe was started Thursday to help the family with medical and funeral costs.
As of Thursday night, around $35,800 had been raised. According to the online fundraising site, it was created by Tara Allred, who is listed as chief of secondary schools on the Ponder ISD website. She did not immediately return a phone call Thursday night from The News.
The school’s booster club also created a custom shirt with his football number to raise money for the Nowicki family. The fundraiser ends Feb. 1, according to the school’s website.
Officers responded to a crash in the 400 block of Amyx Hill Road around 2:25 p.m. Monday, according to a statement from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Investigators determined that an all-terrain vehicle was towing a kayak as a sled when it left the roadway and threw the passenger, identified as Nowicki, into a fence.
The 22-year-old ATV driver and its 18-year-old passenger were not injured, the statement said. Nowicki was rushed to Medical City Denton following the accident.
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It was the second publicly reported sledding accident that resulted in fatalities in North Texas in recent days.
According to Frisco police, Wakeland High School students Elizabeth Angle and Grace Brito were sledding near Majestic Gardens Drive and Killian Court after the area had been coated by ice and snow. Police said the sled was being pulled by a Jeep Wrangler driven by a 16-year-old boy.
The sled hit a curb before striking a tree, police said.
Both girls were rushed to the hospital, where they later died.
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