Caden Nowicki death in Texas sledding accident raises safety questions during winter storms

A North Texas community is mourning 17-year-old Caden Nowicki, a high school senior and football player who died after suffering critical injuries in a sledding accident during last week’s winter weather. Investigators said Nowicki was riding in a kayak being pulled by an ATV when the makeshift sled went out of control and he was thrown into a fence.

The incident has intensified local focus on the risks of improvised sledding and towing setups, especially in places that rarely see snow and where residents may be less accustomed to winter driving and recreation hazards.

What happened in the sledding incident

State investigators said the crash occurred Monday, January 26, 2026, in Ponder, Texas, on Amyx Hill Road. An ATV towing a kayak being used as a sled left the roadway, and the passenger was ejected and struck a fence.

The crash time was given as about 2:30 p.m. local time, which is approximately 3:30 p.m. ET. Nowicki was transported to a hospital in Denton with serious injuries. Authorities and school officials later confirmed he died on Thursday, January 29, 2026. Public statements described his death as occurring Thursday afternoon; an exact time has not been consistently stated across official and school communications.

Who Caden Nowicki was

Nowicki was a senior at Ponder High School and played for the school’s football team, wearing No. 44. School and team messages described him as an inside linebacker and a well-liked presence among classmates and teammates.

In small communities, the loss of a student-athlete often ripples beyond the campus—touching youth leagues, booster clubs, local churches, and the broader network of families who spend fall weekends together in the stands. In the days after his death, messages of support centered on his family and on students who had been with him through school and sports.

Why winter storms heighten injury risk

The accident happened during a stretch of severe winter weather that pushed snow and ice into parts of Texas where these conditions are uncommon. That context matters because unfamiliar weather can change how people make decisions about outdoor fun and transportation.

Snow in warm-weather regions can also create a false sense of safety. Streets and shoulder areas may look like soft, open space, while hidden hazards—fences, culverts, mailboxes, parked vehicles, and uneven pavement edges—sit just beneath the snow line. In towing situations, small changes in traction or steering can quickly translate into major swings in the towed object’s path.

The combination of slick surfaces, limited visibility of obstacles, and the higher forces created by towing can turn a casual activity into a high-speed impact scenario with little time to react.

What officials are emphasizing about towing hazards

Investigators said the kayak was being pulled by an ATV, a setup that can be especially difficult to control because the towed object has no brakes, no steering, and can fishtail on packed snow or icy patches. Even at low speeds, a sudden change in direction can whip the sled into roadside objects or pull it off-line.

Safety experts typically stress a few basics for winter recreation in improvised conditions: avoid towing people behind vehicles, keep riders away from roads and fixed obstacles, and treat any activity involving speed and hard objects as a high-injury-risk environment. When towing is involved, the risks rise sharply because the rider’s trajectory depends entirely on the towing vehicle’s movement and the surface conditions.

What happens next for the community

Officials have not publicly detailed the full scope of any ongoing review, but incidents involving serious injury or death commonly involve follow-up documentation, witness interviews, and reconstruction of the sequence of events. Separately, schools often mobilize support resources for students and staff after a death, including grief counseling, supervised spaces for students to gather, and coordination with families on memorial plans.

For many in Ponder, the immediate next steps are less procedural and more personal: supporting the Nowicki family, helping classmates process the loss, and turning attention to safer choices during unusual winter weather.

Key takeaways

• Caden Nowicki, 17, died January 29, 2026, after critical injuries in a sledding accident in Ponder, Texas.

• Investigators said he was riding in a kayak being towed by an ATV when he was ejected and struck a fence.

• The incident is prompting renewed warnings about the dangers of towing improvised sleds during icy conditions.

Sources consulted: Texas Department of Public Safety; Ponder Independent School District statements; People; KERA News