Teen hockey player who died in tragic crash remembered by community with #Sticks4Carter

IDAHO FALLS — A local 17-year-old is being remembered by his family and community as a lively, intelligent hockey player who was full of love for his family and friends.

Carter Barnes, a son, brother, friend, and avid hockey player, succumbed to his injuries after a car crash in Shelley on April 12.

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The passenger in the car, 17-year-old Waylon Muirbrook, was transported to EIRMC after the crash, where he is recovering from multiple back fractures, according to family members.

“He enjoyed the world”

As a kid, Carter was fearless, says his dad, Jeff Barnes.

“He was always getting into things and just enjoyed life,” says Jeff. “(He) enjoyed the world and was very inquisitive, very curious…just a bright kid.”

Carter got involved with hockey at the age of four, initially falling on his skates but always getting back up, says his mom, Jodi Barnes.

Obituary | Carter Kenji Barnes

“He wanted to learn to ice skate, and we took him to a public (ice rink) and he just couldn’t even stand up, you know, he was like four,” says Jodi. “He just kept falling down and falling down, and he just cried because he wanted to skate so bad. And then his cousins said, ‘Well, you know, you learn real fast if you put him in hockey.’”

From there, Carter was a central player for the Idaho Falls Youth Hockey Association.

Chris Street, one of Carter’s earliest coaches and mentors, remembers the day he first met Carter as a five-year-old who stood out from the crowd.

“My first memory of Carter was he had bright, lime green socks, bright green tape, and bright green hockey gloves,” says Street. “He was like a little kamikaze on the ice, he just always had a smile and was always having fun.”

Carter even influenced his younger brother, 14-year-old Mason Barnes, to start hockey at only three years old, wanting to be just like his older brother.

Outside of hockey, Carter’s family says he enjoyed math and excelled in school, even being honored with a Mayor’s Scholarship in 2024, and taking his Business Professionals of America team to nationals for website design.

“He loved building things, loved tinkering, loved geology, and he loved rocks,” says Jodi. “When he was little, he would come home from the playground with his pockets full of rocks, and he would just say, ‘Well, they were just so pretty!’”

#Sticks4Carter

Not only were his coaches and family influenced by his infectious spirit, but after his tragic death, the hockey community far and wide have come together to honor him with #Sticks4Carter, organized by the Idaho Falls Youth Hockey Association.

“In his honor, Carter’s family is asking the hockey community to show their love and support by placing hockey sticks on porches and capturing a photo,” says a Facebook post by IFYHA. “These images will be gathered and shared at his memorial as a tribute to the impact he made.”

Carter family says they have seen #Sticks4Carter posts from as far as Fairbanks, Alaska, paying tribute to what his hockey team refers to as a “remarkable young man.”

“Carter was more than a teammate—he was a remarkable young man who brought kindness, grit, and positivity to every rink he stepped on,” says the Facebook post by IFYHA. “His loss is deeply felt, and our thoughts are with his family, friends, coaches, and teammates.”

On the day of the accident, Carter and his friend, 17-year-old Waylon Muirbrook, had just finished a tour of Idaho State University, as both were set to graduate from high school next year.

His parents remember him calling them both before he began the drive back to Idaho Falls, recanting his discussions with different ISU staff members as he tried to find a path toward mechanical engineering.

“One thing that he would always do when you talk to him on the phone, he’d always say I love you. Even when I forgot, he was always on top of it,” says Jeff. “(At night) he’d always brush his teeth, then he would come and give me a big hug every night, and tell me he loved me and he’d see me in the morning. Every night, like clockwork.”

Carter’s celebration of life with be help Friday at 11 a.m., and the Ammon North Stake Center, located at 4363 East 17th Street.

Visitation with the family will be held Thursday from 6–8 p.m. at Wood Funeral Home East Side, located at 963 S. Ammon Road, and on Friday, from 10-10:45 a.m. at the church prior to services.

If you’d like to donate to the family for funeral expenses, click here to go to Jodi Barnes’ Venmo.