Anne Arundel County Community College retires jersey of lacrosse player killed in boating crash
BALTIMORE -- It was an emotional day on the lacrosse field at Anne Arundel County Community College.
The teammates of Nick Barton—who died in a boating crash in June—gathered together alongside his family members on Saturday to honor him by retiring his lacrosse jersey.
The 21-year-old lacrosse player wore the number 12 while playing for the community college for three years—up until the day he was killed.
Barton was killed in a boating crash in June 2022. Police say that he and five other people were in a boat traveling along the West River when the boat struck a channel piling.
The impact of the collision caused all six people to be ejected from the boat and into the water, according to authorities.
Barton did not resurface from the water. His body was recovered after a search was conducted.
During a lacrosse game on Saturday, Barton's family was given his retired jersey, which had been signed by all of his teammates.
"Seeing all of his friends and all the people he played with and then his number…but not him here anymore," Barton's father, Ed, said.
Barton played for the team as a midfielder between 2019 and the spring of 2022.
He had a record of 29 career games with 39 goals and nine assists.
For two years in a row—during the spring of 2021 and the spring of 2022—Barton was named to the athletic director's honor roll.
"I'm grieving every day, but to see this just overwhelms me," Barton's mother, Marie, said. "I can't even express the words just to see how he's honored and how he's being remembered today."
Officers arrested the alleged driver of the boat earlier this month.
Shayne Kenneth Smith was charged with negligent manslaughter and operating a boat under the influence.
Maryland's state senate recently passed a bill that establishes harsher penalties for impaired or negligent operation of a vehicle or vessel for those people with prior convictions.