PITTSBORO, N.C. (WPTF) — The suspect in a deadly Chatham County boating accident that happened last summer on Harris Lake pleaded guilty Monday (August 25).
Quenten Kight, 42, pleaded guilty Monday to five charges in the boating accident that killed 10-year-old Brooklyn Carroll on Saturday, August 2, 2025 and severely injured a Wake County school employee.
Kight was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years and six months and a maximum of 15 years and five months in prison as part of a plea deal. After his release, he must complete two years of supervised probation and may not operate any watercraft while on probation. He could have faced a maximum sentence of 62 years in prison.
Investigators say Kight was driving drunk when he ran over swimmers in the water. Killing the 10-year-old and severely injured Wake County school employee Jennifer Stehle, who survived but underwent an amputation above the knee after the incident.
His girlfriend, AnneMarie Flanigan, who owns the boat, was accused of allowing Kight to operate it while intoxicated.
In October, the family of Brooklyn Carroll filed a wrongful-death lawsuit. It is expected to be heard next year.