2 Illinois High School Basketball, Football Players Die in Sledding Accident

Two student-athletes from Prairie Central High School in Fairbury, Illinois, died Sunday in a sledding accident at Copper Mountain Ski Resort in Colorado, according to ABC7 Chicago.

The Summit County Sheriff's Office said Dylan Bazzell and Drew Fehr experienced blunt force trauma when they rode down the halfpipe and were launched into the air by a snowbank.

First responders tended to Bazzell and Fehr at the scene, where they were eventually pronounced dead.

Copper Mountain president and general manager Dustin Lyman explained that sledding "is strictly prohibited" in specified areas at the resort.

Bazzell and Fehr were members of the Prairie Central football and basketball teams.

Erich Murphy of the Pontiac Daily Leader noted Bazzell earned first-team all-state honors after the Hawks basketball team compiled a 31-3 record and claimed a regional title. Fehr was an honorable mention all-state player in football, running for 1,439 yards and 21 touchdowns while compiling 98 tackles as a senior.

"Both were great students, talented athletes, and most importantly amazing people," said Paula Crane, superintendent of Prairie Central Community Unit School District Number 8, per CNN's Amanda Jackson. "They were role models for all who knew them, especially our young athletes throughout the district. The Prairie Central Community continues to mourn their loss, and will support their families, our staff members, and our students throughout the grieving process."

An investigation by the sheriff's office remains ongoing.