TCU community mourns 19-year-old student who died in ATV accident in Colorado
The TCU community is mourning a 19-year-old student who was killed in an ATV crash in Colorado last week. Another TCU student was arrested in connection with the fatal crash, officials said.
Giles Anthony Pond died following the crash at a ranch on Stevens Lake Road in southwestern Colorado’s Archuleta County early Wednesday morning, June 11, according to TCU and law enforcement officials. The accident occurred sometime between midnight and 1 a.m., Archuleta County Undersheriff Robert Hill told the Pagosa Springs Sun.
The crash involved a four-seater ATV, Hill reported. The suspect, 20-year-old Austin James Brown, of Beaumont, Texas, was arrested and faces multiple charges including driving under the influence, vehicular homicide-DUI, criminally negligent homicide, reckless manslaughter, underage alcohol possession and consumption, and prohibited use of a weapon, Hill told the Pagosa Springs Sun.
Brown is also a student at TCU, a university spokesperson told the Star-Telegram.
Pond, a rising sophomore from Houston, was studying business in TCU’s Neeley School of Business. He was an active member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and had been part of the Sherley Hall community as a first-year student at the university in Fort Worth, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Kathryn Cavins-Tull said in an email sent to the campus community on Monday morning, June 16.
“We are saddened by the loss of one of our Horned Frog students,” a TCU spokesperson said in a statement to the Star-Telegram. “We send our heartfelt condolences to their family and loved ones. Please keep those affected by this tragic event in your prayers.”
Remembering Giles Pond
It is customary for the TCU campus community to hold a vigil to honor and remember those who have died. A vigil for Pond will be postponed until students return in the fall, with more information expected in August, Cavins-Tull said in the email.
“Please take care of yourself and others and keep the Pond family, including his sister Belicia who is also a Horned Frog, close in your thoughts and prayers,” Cavins-Tull wrote.
Pond was described as a dearly loved and adored son, brother and friend, according to his obituary.
“Giles brought joy and energy into every room. He was known for his smile, laughter, the way he made people feel noticed and included, his faith and love of working out,” his family wrote in the obituary. “Most importantly, the relationship he had with his brother and sisters was beyond description; their closeness and bond was like no other, simply because they loved each other so much.”
He is survived by his parents, Marlo Pond and David Pond, and his siblings, Pilar, Corbin and Belicia, according to the obituary.
“He cherished his friends deeply and had an effortless way of connecting with everyone,” the obituary says. “Giles was a passionate and dedicated person in all aspects of his life.”
Visitation and funeral services will be held Thursday and Friday in Houston.
The Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office has not released further information about how many people were involved in the crash or what led to the arrest.
Brown was released on bond, according to jail records. It’s unclear whether he has obtained a defense attorney to represent him in the case.
A records request was filed by the Star-Telegram on Thursday to gather more information, and a response is pending.
This story was originally published June 16, 2025 at 8:52 PM.