In a tragic bit of news, three young brothers have died in North Texas after they fell through an icy pond on private land. The three passed away while enjoying winter weather related to Winter Storm Fern.
The family confirmed the deaths of Howard Doss, 6; Kaleb Doss, 8; and EJ Doss, 9. The three brothers were playing on a pond off Recreational Road #3 outside Bonham. Their mother, Cheyenne Hangaman, says that she warned them against playing on the water. But the tragedy happened in an instant.
According to the mother, the youngest was trying to ice skate on the icy pond. But he fell in. His two brothers tried to reach him, but they fell in as well. While her daughter ran for help, Hangaman says she tried to reach her boys. But she ended up falling into the water too.
Fell Into An Icy Pond
"I start running towards the pond and I jump in and I try to save them — also trying to keep myself alive because the water is freezing," Hangaman said. "I couldn't really hardly do anything. It was just one of me and three of them. And they were all needing me at one time and I couldn't — I just couldn't save them."
According to the mother, she tried to lift them out of the ice. But the ice kept collapsing, bringing them back into the water. "I tried to pick one up and put them on the ice," she told CBS News Texas. "It would just break and keep falling in."
First responders finally arrived at the scene. They pulled the two oldest out of the water and rushed them to the hospital. They later passed away from their injuries. Meanwhile, the youngest drowned in the icy pond. His body wasn't recovered until later. A neighbor managed to fish the mother out of the icy pond with a rope.
"He heard the screaming... My friend had a horse rope, and he pulled me out with it," she told CBS News Texas. "It can happen to you... Make sure that you hold your kids tight. Always tell them that you love them."
