Wisconsin town mourns 2 teens killed in high-speed crash

Prescott High School started classes Monday missing two students. Cadence Allen and Ayden Nelson, both 17, died in a high-speed car crash Friday night on Highway 61 in St. Paul.

A cross-shaped memorial sits in a spot off the highway north of Lower Afton Road where four teenagers were involved in the single-vehicle crash just after 11 p.m.

The car, driven by an unnamed 16-year-old, was “traveling at a high rate of speed” when it veered off of the road, rolled and went airborne, striking several trees before landing 40 to 50 feet from the road, according to the Minnesota State Patrol report.

Ayden Nelson and Allen, who were both passengers, died and another 17-year-old was hurt.

Ayden Nelson’s sister, Alexis, recalled the moment she learned the news.

“The cops banged on the door at 2:40 in the morning, asked if Ayden lived here. We said, ‘Yeah,’ and [the officer] said he’s been in a car accident,” Alexis Nelson said Monday. “My head has been spinning ever since.”

“He was a wonderful child,” Chuck Nelson, Ayden’s grandfather said. “We raised Ayden for the better portion of his life.”

Chuck Nelson said he heard the news of Ayden’s death from a phone call with his granddaughter.

“And as soon as I called and she answered, I said, ‘What happened to Ayden?’ And unfortunately, we were concerned that it might have been something else,” he recalled.

State Patrol noted alcohol was found in the systems of at least one passenger. It had not been deemed a cause of the crash in the ongoing investigation as of Monday evening. Regardless, Chuck Nelson said his grandson was struggling with it.

“I’m all too familiar with the disease of alcoholism,” he said. “And Ayden, I think had the gene.”

He was working on getting his grandson help, Nelson said. He just didn’t get the chance.

“And that’s the emphasis that I would really appreciate on the story,” he told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. “The fact of making good choices and not drinking and driving.”

“He had so much growing up left to do,” Alexis Nelson added. “He was so sweet. He really was, he had such a beautiful soul.”

The Nelsons said they knew and loved Ayden’s friends too, including Allen.

Lynn Peterson, a friend of the Allen family says cadence was like a son to her.

“Cadence was a loving, caring, adventurous and pure young man,” she wrote in a statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. “He had a heart of gold. Made people laugh and was always there for his friends.”

Ayden Nelson’s mom, Jennifer Kabat, also shared a statement:

“Ayden had his struggles. But he really had no idea how much people loved him. He didn’t smile often enough but when he did it was a smile you could never forget. He loved all of his siblings so much. He was taken from us far too soon and will be forever missed.”

GoFundMe pages have been created for both Allen and Nelson’s families.