Lamar Patterson was a highly-recruited football player at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore who died in a car crash on February 2, 2022, when his car was struck by a light rail train on his way to school. The light rail operator, Tavon Smith, has been charged with negligent manslaughter, criminal negligence, and reckless endangerment. Charging documents allege that Smith caused Pattersons death by operating the locomotive "in a grossly negligent manner". Initially, investigators said that Patterson failed to stop at the rail crossing, even though the gates were lowering, the signals were flashing, and the train was sounding its horn. However, when police later reviewed surveillance footage, they saw that the rail crossings arms were not down at the time of the crash.