A man accused of driving a boat while impaired and striking two swimmers on Harris Lake in Chatham County in August 2025 has pleaded guilty in the death of 10-year-old Brooklyn Carroll.
Quinten Kight, 40, of Vass, faced several charges, including second-degree murder, in connection with the Aug. 2, 2025, boat crash. The crash killed 10-year-old Brooklyn Carroll of Apex and critically injured Jennifer Stehle, a social worker and mother of one of Carroll’s friends. Stehle’s leg was amputated as a result of her injuries.
Kight accepted a plea deal Monday.
Quinten Kight enters a guilty plea in court on Aug. 24, 2026
Seventeen people are expected to read victim impact statements in Chatham County court Monday.
At least 10 people were on board the boat that day, including two children. In addition to being impaired, Kight was not looking forward in the direction of the boat’s path at the time of the crash, according to warrants.
Investigators said they found 39 empty alcoholic seltzer cans in the boat.
A warrant filed by an investigator revealed Kight had red and glassy eyes and was hard to understand when talking to a law enforcement officer. He was eating a sandwich when first contacted, which the investigator believed was a ploy to potentially cover the smell of alcohol on his breath.
His girlfriend, Annemarie Flanigan, who owned the boat, was charged with second-degree murder, felony death by impaired boating and aiding and abetting boating while impaired. Flanigan entered a plea of not guilty on July 16, 2026, and her next hearing is scheduled for Sept.14.
Carroll’s parents have filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court against Kight, Flanigan and other passengers on the boat. The civil trial is set to begin in August 2027.