August 2nd marks one year since
the tragic death of a 10-year-old girl from Apex.
Brooklyn Carroll died after a
boat hit her while she was swimming in Harris Lake.
“It’s been hard. It’s been
hard for everyone. I can’t even begin to describe how hard it is for the
family,” said Allison Mazzotta, a friend of the Carroll family and whose
daughter was friends with Brooklyn.
“I think one of the hardest
parts I’ve experienced as a parent is having to tell my daughter that her
friend is no longer with us.”
Carroll had just
started her first week of fifth grade at West Lake Elementary School when she
was hit by a boat while swimming in Harris Lake with her friend’s family. The
boat’s operator, Quinten Kight, and Annemarie Flanagan face charges including
second-degree murder. Kight is accused of being under the influence of
alcohol.
In the months that followed the
incident, Mazzotta and other community members joined the heartbroken Carroll
family in establishing the Brooklyn Mae Carroll Foundation.
Over the past year, the foundation has held awareness and
fundraising events in Carroll’s honor and given scholarships to students.
The foundation’s long-term goal
is to put emergency safety kits at boat ramps across North Carolina. The safety
kits would include items like tourniquets and personal protective equipment to
help people on the water who find themselves in crisis while they wait for
first responders to arrive.
“Everybody did everything
they could. But was there something more that could have helped? That’s an
answer we’ll never know; that’s an answer we hope to be able to keep other
families from asking themselves,” said Mazzotta.
The foundation has a prototype
for the safety kits but requires funds to make them a reality at boat ramps
across the state. They are hosting a golf tournament on September 28th to begin the fundraising process, and are accepting
online donations through their website.
Above all else, their message
is simple:
“Boating needs to be done
in a safe way, just like driving,” said Mazzotta.
Kight and Flanigan remain in
jail while they await trial.