Boating safety: After 10-year-old's death at Harris Lake, push to warn people of drinking dangers

Ahead of Labor Day weekend, the N.C. Wildlife Commission is drawing attention to boating safety at Shearon Harris Lake, where a girl was killed.

Wednesday's event comes less than a month after the Aug. 2 tragic boat crash on Harris Lake. A 10-year-old girl, Brooklyn Carroll, was killed, and a woman was seriously injured.

Quinten Kight, 40, the man driving the boat, is accused of drinking while boating. 

The event began at 11 a.m. with remarks from multiple speakers.

"We shouldn’t tend to be here today to say something that has been said time and time again -- that there’s no place for consumption of alcohol in motor vehicles or boats in our state," said Chatham County District Attorney Jeff Nieman. "Please, if you are listening to this, think before you act, before you get behind the wheel of the car or behind a boat."

On Wednesday, Brooklyn's parents released a written statement directed at Labor Day revelers:

"As one of the busiest boating weekends of the year approaches, we ask that everyone who plans to hit the waters take a moment to remember our beloved Brooklyn.

Boating, when done right, can be an incredible way to spend time with loved ones. But boating, when mixed with excessive alcohol, can have disastrous consequences that costs lives and changes families forever.

 We will spend the next two days placing “Boat Sober. Save Lives.” signs at more than 10 lakes across the state. We hope that these signs will serve as a reminder of the incredible responsibility that comes with boating and we thank everyone for remembering Brooklyn and the light that she brought to so many."

Signs have already been placed at the boat ramp on the lake in Carroll’s memory to remind boaters to be safe on the water. 

N.C. Wildlife is teaming up with several partners from across the state to bring awareness to the dangers of boating while under the influence. 

Eleven boating incidents happened last Labor Day weekend in North Carolina, and two of them were alcohol-related, according to N.C. Wildlife. 

"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."

Wednesday's event is part of a Labor Day campaign to reduce alcohol and drug-related incidents on roadways and waterways.