The family and friends of 10-year-old Brooklyn Carroll will gather to lay her to rest Friday at Apex Funeral Home in a private service.
In a short statement Tuesday evening, the family of a 10-year-old girl killed in a tragic boat crash on Harris Lake shared their grief for the first time. The statement eulogized a daughter who “filled our lives with joy and laughter.”
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The statement comes days after Brooklyn Carroll, a rising fifth grader at West Lake Elementary School, was hit and killed by a boat on Harris Lake.
Jennifer Stehle, a social worker at the school and mother of one of Carroll’s friends, was seriously injured. As of Friday, Aug. 8, she is quickly on her way to recovery.
The statement was released by a family attorney on behalf of Carroll’s parents, Kim and Matt.
This past Saturday, our lives were shattered when our daughter, Brooklyn, died from injuries she sustained when she was hit by a boat while she was innocently swimming at Shearon Harris Lake…We appreciate the support that we have received from our family, our friends and even strangers. As we continue to grieve together as a family, we request privacy.Brooklyn Carroll's parents, Kim and Matt
Other condolences came Tuesday evening from members of the Wake County School Board.
“I’m holding them close to my heart, and I know that all of you are as well,” said board member Lynn Edmonds, during the board’s evening meeting. “I just wanted to acknowledge that and send them all the love and support we can.”
According to Carroll's obituary, she dreamed of becoming a teacher. Her family said she loved riding horses and playing with her pets. Her family plans to establish the Brooklyn Mae Carroll Scholarship Fund which would be awarded annually to an aspiring veterinarian.
If you're interested in contributing to that fund, you can find more details on the GoFundMe page.
Two people, Quinten Kight and Annemarie Flanigan, are now charged in the crash.
Police say Flanigan and Kight were in a relationship. Flanigan, the boat’s owner, was on board during the crash. Kight was behind the wheel. 39 beer cans were recovered in the boat by authorities.
“I wish it never would have come to that,” said Kenneth Marshall, who lost his own daughter in a boat crash on Lake Norman in 2015.
“Basically, we had a drunk boater that had run over my daughter, while she was kneeboarding,” he said.
That tragedy inspired the law that’s now been used to charge Kight and Flanigan. The General Assembly approved what’s called Sheyenne’s law in 2016, making boating DWI cases that result in death a felony. Previously, it was only a misdemeanor.
Marshall says that change was a step in the right direction, but lawmakers should have gone further.
“You know, if you do have a DUI, you don’t get your boating license,” he said.
Marshall points to Saturday’s crash as a perfect example of why. Court records show Quinten Kight had previously been convicted of DWI in New Mexico in 2009, and had pending charges for a 2023 hit-and-run in Moore County.
“Just make it stricter in general,” said Marshall, because the pain of losing a daughter in a crash like this is something that never ends.
“I mean, it doesn’t go away just like that. It stays with you forever,” he said.
According to her obituary, a visitation for Brooklyn Carroll will be held on August 7. Her funeral is scheduled for August 8.