A 16-year-old girl was killed, and another was critically injured in a sledding accident, as parts of Texas were hit by a rare snowstorm over the weekend.
Police in Frisco, about 30 miles north of Dallas, say a 16-year-old boy was driving a Jeep that was pulling two girls on a sled behind it just before 2:30 p.m. Saturday, WFAA reported.
Witnesses told police that the sled carrying the girls struck a curb and then crashed into a tree.
The two teens were taken to nearby hospitals, where one died from her injuries. The second teen was in critical condition Sunday, according to the report.
Melissa Trevino, who lives in the area, told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth the accident was “shocking.”
“I don’t know what they told their parents what they were doing but my neighbor who lives next door says he saw a Jeep pulling some kids on a sled and a few minutes later we saw six or four cop cars here, a bunch of caution tape and something bad had happened,” Trevino said.
None of the teens involved in the accident have been identified by authorities. It was not immediately clear if charges would be filed.
Authorities are still investigating the horrific crash, which unfolded during a rare winter snow storm. This weekend, Arctic air surged into the northern part of Texas, covering much of the Dallas-Fort Worth area with up to five inches of snow and ice, KDFW reported.
For many in the state, the bitter cold was reminiscent of the historic February 2021 Texas freeze but fortunately this weekend’s storm does not appear to have been anywhere near as damaging.
The 2021 storm brought multiple rounds of heavy snow and ice to the Lone Star State. Below-freezing temperatures lasted over a week and millions were without power for days on end.
There were 246 winter storm-related deaths in the state as a result of the freeze, and economic damage caused by burst pipes, building fires and lost revenue was estimated to cost over $200 billion, according to The Houston Chronicle.
This weekend’s chill won’t last nearly as long as the 2021 freeze. A winter storm warning for North and Central Texas expired Monday, but an extreme cold warning will stay in effect through Tuesday morning, according to KDFW.
While temperatures will remain below freezing, an abundance of sunlight on Monday is expected to start to melt some of the ice, WFAA reported.
Temperatures are expected to rise above freezing around 11 a.m. Tuesday. By Tuesday afternoon, temperatures should be near 40 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning the ice will likely be gone by Wednesday, according to the report.
Two people have died from the storm in Texas, according to the Weather Channel. It is unclear if one of those deaths was the teen killed in the sledding accident.
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