The man charged in the boat crash that killed a girl and severed a woman's leg appeared in court on Monday.
The boater, Quinten Kight, 40, faces a felony charge for operating a motor vessel "while under the influence of an impairing substance," unintentionally causing the death of another person, according to an arrest warrant. Investigators say he directed a boat into a group of swimmers at Harris Lake in Chatham County on Saturday afternoon.
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During Monday's court proceedings, Chatham County District Attorney Jeff Nieman said investigators found 39 empty beer cans on Kight's boat. Other alcohol containers were found outside the boat and were believed to belong to those on Kight's boat.
Based on statements from several people, everyone onboard, including Kight, were looking backward at the person being pulled, not forward. Kight was pulling a floater or raft of sorts. Nieman said there were multiple people on board, but did not specify exactly how many.
Kight faces a $500,000 secured bond and he will be monitored by pre-trial release should he post it. If he's released, he'll be required to wear an ankle monitor.
"Obviously this is a very sad and tragic situation where we're going to definitely to have those conversations, but also give them time to grieve and process what they've been through," Nieman said.
It's not his first run-in with the law. In 2009, Kight was convicted for driving under the influence in New Mexico. He has pending charges for hit-and-run in Moore County from a 2023 incident.
Brooklyn Carroll died in the crash. She was a fifth-grader at West Lake Elementary School in Cary. Jennifer Stehle was also hurt and had to have her leg amputated. Authorities told WRAL News Carroll and Stehle were swimming close to a boat when Kight's boat drove into them.
"Operating a boat under any impairing substance, whether that’s drugs or alcohol, it’s extremely dangerous," said Sgt. Claude Smith with NC Wildlife Resources Commission. "Every year throughout the summer we deal with a lot of different boat incidents that are alcohol- and drug- related. This is obviously an extreme example of that. It's a very tragic accident."
A GoFundMe was set up to help Carroll's parents with funeral expenses and memorial arrangements.