A former US Army Special Forces sniper has been jailed for a minimum of 12 and a half years after causing a drunken boat crash that killed a ten-year-old girl and severely injured a woman in North Carolina. Quinten Kight, 42, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and related charges over the death of Brooklyn Carroll, who was swimming with friends at Shearon Harris Reservoir on 2 August 2025 when Kight's boat struck her and family friend Jennifer Stehle, 41. The case has drawn attention both for the scale of Kight's intoxication and for his background as a decorated combat veteran, details of which his defence raised at sentencing.

Carroll, who was due to start fifth grade, died at the scene, while Stehle, a school social worker, had her left leg amputated after being struck by the boat's propeller. Investigators found 39 empty alcohol cans aboard the vessel, which carried at least ten passengers including four children, with more than 50 further cans recovered from the lake; Kight's blood alcohol level measured 0.17, over twice the legal limit, five hours after the crash. He was sentenced to between 12 years six months and 15 years five months, plus two years' supervised probation with a ban on operating watercraft. The boat's owner, his girlfriend Annemarie Flanigan, 56, faces separate charges including second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty, while civil lawsuits from both victims' families are due for trial next summer.