Passengers aboard a boat crash that killed a 10-year-old girl at Harris Lake showed wildlife officers cellphone videos of wake boarding that took place minutes before the incident, according to warrants obtained Wednesday by WRAL News.
Quentin Kight and Annemarie Flanigan each face second-degree murder charges in the death of 10-year-old Brooklyn Mae Carroll.
Other WRAL Top Stories
Kight and Flanigan also face additional charges from the Aug. 2 crash.
Kight was behind the wheel and is also charged with causing serious injury by impaired boating and operating a boat in a reckless manner.
Flanigan is the owner of the boat. She is charged with felony death by impaired boating, serious injury via impaired boating and aiding and abetting boating while impaired.
According to the warrants, someone on the boat told investigators that Kight “appeared to be looking at his cellphone” while driving the boat on Aug. 2 at Harris Lake in Chatham County. He was also pulling tubers behind him, the warrants state.
The warrants show officers went to Flannigan’s house in Vass on Aug. 3, the day after the crash.
According to the warrants, Flannigan showed an officer “a video on her cellphone timestamped 4:32 p.m. on Aug. 2, 2025. The video appeared to show individuals involved in wake boarding being towed behind a wake boat.”
The warrants state officers went to two other passengers’ house on Aug. 3 in Vass.
“The videos showed multiple people involved in boating and tubing while being towed by a boat,” a warrant states.
The officer also noticed the presence of what appeared to be alcoholic beverages throughout the videos.
Investigators recovered 39 empty seltzer cans in the boat. Other alcohol containers were found outside the boat and were believed to belong to those on Kight's boat.
Authorities said the boat collided with a group of swimmers on Aug. 2, killing Carroll and seriously injuring Jennifer Stehle.
Carroll was a fifth grader at West Lake Elementary School in Cary. Stehle had to have her leg amputated.
On Thursday, Carroll's parents, Kim Cannon and Matt Carroll, shared a statement with the media and those who have followed the story.
The Carroll family extends their heartfelt gratitude to the community for the outpouring of love, prayers, and support in the aftermath of Brooklyn’s tragic passing. Brooklyn’s family continues to mourn the loss of a caring, funny, and compassionate child whose light made everything brighter. Her memory lives in every act of kindness toward others. The family also continues to pray for the healing and recovery of family friend Jennifer Stehle, who suffered life-altering injuries in the crash and faces a long road ahead. This formal statement serves to renew the call for justice — not only to honor Brooklyn’s memory but to underscore the need for accountability and safer boating practices going forward. The family gratefully acknowledges the tireless efforts of law enforcement, first responders, the Chatham County District Attorney’s office, the law firm representing the Carroll family, and everyone who continues to keep Brooklyn’s story in the public conscience.