A Maryland train operator has been charged in reference to a horrific crash that killed a star highschool football player last 12 months.
Tavon Smith was charged with negligent manslaughter, criminal negligence and reckless endangerment within the death of Lamar Patterson, 17, on Feb. 2, 2022, news station WJZ reported.
Charging documents obtained by the station alleged that Smith caused Patterson’s death by operating the locomotive “in a grossly negligent manner.”
Patterson was driving to St. Francis Academy in Baltimore heading west on Maple Road in Linthicum when his automotive was struck by an MTA Light Rail train traveling east, killing him.
Investigators initially said that Patterson did not stop on the rail crossing, regardless that the gates were lowering, the signals were flashing and the train was sounding its horn.
But when police later reviewed surveillance footage, they saw that the rail crossing’s arms weren’t down on the time of the crash.
Smith “did recklessly engage in conduct that created a considerable risk of death and serious injury” to Patterson,” based on the court filing.
The 17-year-old athlete was a standout junior wide receiver at St. Francis Academy, where he transferred in his freshman 12 months to hitch the private school’s renowned football program.
Patterson reportedly had scholarship offers from many Division I schools, including Arizona State, West Virginia and Boston College.
University of Maryland Football Coach Michael Locksley mourned Patterson’s death in a tweet last 12 months, describing the teenager as “a vibrant and talented young man with a lot life ahead of him.”
