A 42-year-old man from Vass was sentenced to prison for driving a boat into a group of swimmers on Harris Lake in August 2025, killing a child and seriously injuring another person.
On Monday, in the Chatham County Justice Center in Pittsboro, Quinten Kight appeared before Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour for sentencing. Kight pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, felony boating while impaired involving serious injury, felony boating while impaired resulting in death, careless and reckless operation of a motorboat and boating while impaired for the death of 10‑year‑old Brooklyn Carroll and the injuries suffered by Jenifer Stehle.
Kight was sentenced to 144–185 months for second-degree murder and 19–35 months for felony boating while impaired involving serious injury.
Upon completion of his active sentence, Kight will be placed on 24 months of supervised probation, during which he is prohibited from operating any boat, watercraft, or motor vehicle.
Harris Lake is a large reservoir located in southeastern Chatham County, roughly 30 miles southwest of Raleigh. During the summer, it’s a popular spot for families to go boating, fishing, and swimming.
The crash occurred when Kight struck two people with his boat while they were swimming near another boat. Carroll was a rising fifth grader at West Lake Elementary School, and Stehle was a school social worker.
Carroll was pronounced dead at the scene. Stehle sustained critical injuries and later underwent a leg amputation, according to court officials.
Chatham County District Attorney Jeff Nieman said last summer that investigators discovered 39 empty beer cans aboard Kight’s boat following the crash.
Kight was looking backward toward a tube he was towing at the time of the incident. Investigators report that Kight allegedly tried to dispose of the alcohol containers after the incident.
According to online court documents last summer, Kight also has a pending charge in Moore County stemming from a December 2023 incident in which he was accused of felony hit-and-run causing injuries.
According to court documents, Kight’s girlfriend, Annemarie Flanigan, of Vass, who was the owner of the boat and allowed Kight to operate under the influence, was arrested after the incident and charged with aiding and abetting felony death by impaired boating, along with aiding and abetting felony serious injury by impaired boating and aiding and abetting DWI—motor boat/vessel.
Feature photo: A member of law enforcement drives by Brooklyn Carroll signs. Contributed photo.
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