Colorado Buffaloes football player Dominiq Ponder, 23, was killed early Sunday in a single-vehicle crash, a loss that comes just as the program prepares to open spring practice Monday. The incident, being investigated by state troopers, raises immediate questions about speed and road safety that officials say are under review.<\/p>\n
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According to the Colorado State Patrol, Ponder was driving a 2023 Tesla Model 3<\/strong> westbound on Baseline Road<\/strong> shortly before 3 a.m. when the vehicle crossed into the eastbound lane, passed through a guardrail and struck an electrical pole. Authorities say the car rolled down an embankment and ignited; no other vehicles were reported to be involved.<\/p>\n Ponder was pronounced dead at the scene. The Colorado State Patrol\u2019s Vehicular Crimes Unit is leading the inquiry, and the preliminary report indicates that speed is suspected<\/strong> to have been a contributing factor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A native of Opa\u2011Locka, Florida, Ponder spent the 2023 season at Bethune\u2011Cookman, appearing in two games before taking a redshirt year. He transferred to Colorado in 2024 but did not play that season. He made his collegiate debut in 2025 during Colorado\u2019s game at Arizona and saw limited special\u2011teams action the following week against West Virginia.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders<\/strong> confirmed Ponder\u2019s death in a social media post Sunday, asking fans and the community to keep the family in their thoughts and describing Ponder as a valued teammate and natural leader.<\/p>\n University of Colorado Athletic Director Fernando Lovo said the athletic department is grieving, noting Ponder\u2019s commitment, leadership and the regard in which teammates and coaches held him. The Big 12 Conference also extended condolences to the player\u2019s family and the CU community.<\/p>\n Teammates reacted on social media as well. One teammate, Colton Allen, wrote that Ponder brought energy and joy to the team and said he would carry memories of their time together for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n<\/ul>\n Colorado Athletics said counseling and support services will be available for student\u2011athletes and staff as the program prepares to resume on\u2011field work. The timing of the tragedy \u2014 immediately before spring practice \u2014 underscores the emotional toll on a team still managing day\u2011to\u2011day operations while mourning a teammate.<\/p>\n The state investigation is ongoing; troopers have not released a final determination of cause. Officials asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the Colorado State Patrol.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":43424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"schema_org_data":"{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Dominiq Ponder\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Deion Sanders\",\"image\":\"https:\/\/image.tmdb.org\/t\/p\/w500\/qaB8YwSHMMuL9rhrPmFLDJZuigC.jpg\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.themoviedb.org\/person\/174792\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Fernando Lovo\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Colton Allen\"},{\"@type\":\"Place\",\"name\":\"Opa\u2011Locka\",\"description\":\"city\"}]}","_extracted_celebrities":null,"_extracted_movies":"","_extracted_places":null,"_extracted_videos":"","_last_enrichment_date":"2026-03-02 10:02:15","footnotes":""},"categories":[188],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"yoast_head":"\nWho Ponder was<\/h3>\n
Reactions from the team and conference<\/h3>\n
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