A Woodford County High School swim team member who was paralyzed before the beginning of this season died Sunday.

Officials said Dusty Hicks apparently died of a self-inflicted wound.

"Our hearts go out to the family," said Paul Stahler, superintendent of Woodford County schools. "It's a devastating loss, and we're all in shock."

Crisis counselors will be available at the high school Monday.

Hicks began swimming when he was 3 years old. He was a promising member of his school's swim team and was expected to have a successful college athletic career.

On July 4, Hicks jumped into a pond and sustained a neck injury that paralyzed him.
Four months after his accident, Hicks couldn't walk, but he had some movement in all his extremities and could pick up a bottle of Ale-8-One and drink it himself, according to a Herald-Leader profile of Hicks.

Hicks' goal for this year, which would have been his last year in high school, was to walk across the stage to pick up his diploma in the spring, he said in the profile.

Hicks was honored Saturday with a Best Sportsmanship award at the State Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Louisville.