frisco-texas-sledding-accident
The winter storm that blew through North Texas earlier this week left behind more than ice and broken branches. In Frisco, it stole the lives of two 16-year-old best friends, turning a neighborhood sledding run into a tragedy and leaving one family saying simply, “Our family is heartbroken.” What should have been a quick thrill on a snow-covered street is now a story of grief, love, and a community trying to hold two families up at once.
Friends and relatives say the girls, cheerleader Grace Brito and her longtime friend Elizabeth Angle, were inseparable, the kind of “besties forever” who split their time between each other’s houses and school events. Now, as loved ones plan vigils and funerals instead of spring break trips, they are trying to make sense of how a familiar street and a plastic sled could change everything in a matter of seconds.
The accident that shattered a neighborhood
Investigators say the crash unfolded on a residential street in Frisco as the storm dumped rare, heavy snow across the region. Police and firefighters responded just before 3 p.m. Sunday, after a sled being towed behind a vehicle lost control on the slick pavement. According to the Frisco Police Department, the sled hit a curb, then slammed into a tree with enough force to leave both teens critically hurt, a sequence echoed in separate accounts that describe how the sled “careened” off the curb into the trunk in a matter of moments.
Authorities say the girls had been riding together on the same sled, which was attached by a rope to a Jeep driven by another teenager. During a sharp turn, the sled whipped sideways, hit the curb, and then the tree, according to a detailed description that notes how the impact left one girl unresponsive at the scene and the other rushed to the hospital in critical condition. One witness later told investigators, “I don’t know if it was from having fun or what. Then, I lost sight of them as they kind of came around the corner,” a moment captured in a report that quotes the word Then as the instant everything went wrong.
First responders say the crash was so severe that one teen, identified as Elizabeth Angle, died shortly after the collision, while her friend was taken to a trauma center with life-threatening injuries. Reports describe how Tragic Sledding Accident became the phrase no one in the neighborhood wanted to hear, as word spread that the second girl had also died from her injuries. Police have said the driver stayed on scene and cooperated, and there has been no public indication yet of criminal charges, a detail echoed in coverage that notes the focus so far has been on grief and support rather than blame.
From best friends to shared loss
Family members have identified the second victim as 16-year-old Grace Brito, a Texas cheerleader remembered as outgoing and fiercely loyal. Grace died Tuesday after spending days in critical condition, according to relatives who shared that she never regained consciousness following the crash. One detailed account notes that During her final hours, loved ones gathered at the hospital to say goodbye, even as they tried to process that Elizabeth was already gone. Another report describes Grace as “a kind and generous soul, full of love, affection, and warmth,” language that appears in a news release cited in a profile of Grace Brito that has been widely shared by classmates.
Friends say the girls were more like sisters, a bond captured in coverage that calls them Besties who did everything together. Relatives told reporters that the two 16-year-olds were sophomores at Wakeland High School in Tex, and that they split holidays and weekends between their homes. One local story quotes a family friend saying the girls were always “together at each other’s house,” a line that appears in a piece highlighting the lasting friendship that now makes the loss feel doubled.
Grief, questions, and a community trying to help
In the days since the crash, the city of Frisco has been in mourning, with classmates, teachers, and neighbors leaving flowers and handwritten notes near the tree where the sled hit. One local report describes how the community of Frisco is rallying around the families of Elizabeth Angle and Grace Brito, with vigils planned and counselors brought in to Wakeland High School. Another piece notes that the story has resonated far beyond North Texas, with national outlets picking up the details of the Frisco sledding crash and the way it has shaken parents who see their own kids in the girls’ faces.
Relatives have been open about their heartbreak, with one family statement saying, “Our family is heartbroken,” a sentiment repeated in multiple accounts of the tragedy. A detailed feature on the two teens notes that the community of Frisco is leaning on faith, school spirit, and small gestures like meal trains to get the families through the first awful week. Another report, labeled NEED to KNOW, lays out how the sledding accident in Texas on a winter Sunday has sparked fresh conversations about towing sleds behind cars, a practice safety experts have long warned against.
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