Man Dies After Being Struck by Boat's Propeller

A Harwood man died in the Patuxent River Sunday morning when he fell overboard and struck a boat’s propeller after getting his leg caught in a trotline, according to the Maryland Naturals Resource Police (NRP).

NRP said 29-year-old Lewis Jack Sprouse, of Harwood was using a trotline for crabs when his foot got tangled in the line, which pulled him overboard.

Witnesses told police they saw the boat going around in circles but then came to a stop after Sprouse’s body hit the propeller, stalling the engine. Sprouse and his boat, a 17-foot Mako, were in the Patuxent River just one mile south of Sheridan Point.

NRP responded to the scene at 8:45 a.m. on Sunday and used a dive team to recover Sprouse’s body with the help of the Benedict Volunteer Fire Department, according to the release. The body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy, NRP said.