Teens Killed in Spring Break Sledding Accident in Colorado

Two Illinois teens' spring break trip to Colorado went devastatingly wrong when they were killed in a sledding accident Sunday night at Copper Mountain ski resort. The 17- and 18-year-old boys, seniors at Prairie Central High School, were riding tandem down the resort's halfpipe on a plastic sled. Sleds aren't allowed on the runs at Copper Mountain, which is about 75 miles west of Denver, and the teens were also on the halfpipe after that area of the resort had closed, CBS News reports. They hit a large snowbank at the bottom and went airborne, CNN reports.

"The two individuals came down hard on the hard ice below, causing blunt force trauma," officials said. They received immediate medical attention but could not be revived and were pronounced dead. "The entire team at Copper Mountain is deeply saddened by this tragic incident," reads a statement from the resort that also advises, "we'd ask our guests to please observe posted signs and warnings and not enter closed trails and areas." Of the teens, the superintendent of their school district says, "Both were great students, talented athletes, and most importantly amazing people. They were role models for all who knew them, especially our young athletes throughout the district." (Two skiers were also recently killed in avalanches in the state.)