A tragic day on a North Carolina lake has sparked outrage, lawsuits, and criminal charges after a 10-year-old girl was killed and a woman severely injured in a boating incident that many are calling both heartbreaking and infuriating.
Rather than helping the two victims he allegedly struck with his boat, authorities say 51-year-old Quinten Kight told the other passengers to start tossing evidence overboard. That evidence allegedly included nearly 100 cans of alcoholic beverages—most of them White Claws—consumed during a daylong party on the water.
Kight, his girlfriend Annemarie Flanigan, and eight other adults were out on Shearon Harris Reservoir when tragedy struck. According to lawsuits filed by the victim’s family and survivor Jennifer Stehle, Kight had been drinking heavily all day and was operating the boat despite being visibly intoxicated. At one point, he was towing two wakeboarders behind the boat when one of them fell. As Kight looked back at the fallen rider, he allegedly kept speeding forward—straight into 10-year-old Brooklyn Mae Carroll and Jennifer Stehle, who were swimming nearby.
The boat hit them with such force that the propeller broke off. Brooklyn suffered catastrophic injuries and later died. Stehle’s leg was so badly damaged that doctors were forced to amputate. Despite this, lawsuits claim that Kight kept driving for another 150 yards after the crash and told the others on board to “toss everything overboard.” That’s when cans of alcohol started flying into the water. Authorities later recovered at least 39 empty alcohol containers on the boat and more floating nearby.
When police questioned Kight, they noted his red, glassy eyes, slurred speech, and the strong smell of alcohol on his breath. More than five hours after the crash, his blood alcohol content still measured 0.17—over twice the legal limit.
Kight and Flanigan were arrested and are now facing multiple felony charges, including second-degree murder. Both are being held on $1 million bonds. Flanigan, a retired Army combat nurse, has asked the court to lower her bond, citing her responsibility to care for her 19-year-old son with autism. But prosecutors pushed back, pointing out that she knowingly allowed an intoxicated man to drive the boat. A judge declined to reduce her bond.
Brooklyn’s parents were present at the hearing and could be heard sobbing in court. In a statement, they said, “Instead of taking our beloved Brooklyn to school today, we attended a criminal bond hearing for one of the people accused in her death. As we sat and listened to the disturbing facts surrounding this needless and tragic event, we held a lock of Brooklyn’s hair in our hands and remembered the joy she brought to our lives.”
Jennifer Stehle, who is continuing her recovery, also released a statement alongside her brother thanking the community for their love and support, saying the kindness they’ve received has “been lifelines holding us together during the most difficult days of our lives.”
What was supposed to be a fun summer day on the lake has instead shattered families, and the legal fallout is just beginning.
Save all the expense, Git a Couple of Ropes!
This is premeditated murder
Well, she wasn’t worried about her autistic son when she was out drunk on a boat killing a child and injuring an adult. Mother of the Year!