As Windsor High reopens, former classmate remembered
WINDSOR — On Monday, students from Berthoud High School created a banner and delivered it to Windsor High School.
The banner read "BHS hearts (loves) WHS" and was covered in handwritten messages of encouragement and condolences.
It was a thoughtful gesture among many extended to the families and friends of two students who were involved in a deadly crash on I-25 over the holiday weekend.
Nineteen-year-old Kyle Nackos and Nash Rider, 16, were driving north on Interstate 25 at about 3 a.m. on Thursday morning, returning home from a concert in Colorado Springs.
Alex Rodriguez, 25, was reportedly driving under the influence and traveling south in the northbound lanes of I-25 when he struck their Subaru head-on near the Erie/Dacono exit.
Rider, a sophomore at Windsor High School, was hospitalized and is fighting for his life, according to a GoFundMe page established by his family. Nackos, the passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. He was a 2016 graduate of Windsor High.
Berthoud High is no stranger to grief — three of its students have died in less than nine months. Two died by suicide, and one was murdered by a classmate who confessed to the killing.
The Weld RE-4 school district staffed Windsor High School with extra counselors Monday, the first day back from classes after the Thanksgiving Day break.
“This is a tragedy for our community. We all loved those kids,’’ Windsor High School Principal Michelle Scallon said. “And as sad it is, it also has been amazing to see this community and students rally around each other.’’
Brennon Seyboldt, 16, on Monday said he looked up to his older friend Nackos.
Seybolt, a Windsor sophomore, met Nackos, 19, nearly a decade ago when his family moved to the area and joined the same church as the Nackos family.
The two families played sports and camped together, and Seyboldt was playing basketball and volleyball with the Nackos family the night before Kyle Nackos died.
Funeral services are Friday, with a viewing the day prior.
Hundreds of people gathered on the school's football field for a candlelight vigil the day after the Thanksgiving accident. Scott and Julie Nackos, Kyle's parents, were among those in attendance.
Seyboldt also attended the vigil and said it was a good way to show how many people cared about the two teenagers in the crash.
Nackos was laid back, funny and had a knack for making people's rough days better, Seyboldt said. Close friends and several teachers cried during school on Monday, he said.
"It was cool to see how many people (Kyle) and Nash positively impacted and how many people really care about them and their families," Seyboldt said.
Rodriguez, the driver who allegedly caused the fatal crash, was arrested by Colorado State Patrol on Friday on suspicion of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, driving under the influence and driving with an open alcohol container. He remains in custody in the Weld County Jail with no bond. The investigation is ongoing.
A GoFundMe page to help cover Nackos' funeral expenses described him as "a loving friend, sibling, uncle and son." A second GoFundMe page was created to help cover Rider's medical expenses. Nearly $40,000 has been raised between the two pages.
Bear Grillz, an electronic music producer who performed at the Colorado Springs concert, shared the news of the crash on his Twitter account. He expressed condolences and shared the GoFundMe page to help the Nackos family raise money.
He also linked to posts on electronic music-dedicated websites that sought to advertise the fundraiser and "honor (a) fallen Bear Grillz fan."
As of Monday, 557 people have died in 512 crashes on Colorado roadways this year, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Of those 512 crashes, 157 involved impairment — about 30.7 percent.
In 2015, 547 people died in 507 crashes on Colorado roadways. About 32.5 percent of the crashes involved impairment.