North Carolina wildlife officers vow to crack down on impaired boaters on Lake Norman, Harris Lake and other waterways across the state over the Labor Day holiday weekend.
The effort is part of the state’s annual On The Road, On the Water, Don’t Drink and Drive safety campaign and follows the Aug. 2 death of 10-year-old Brooklyn Mae Carroll of Apex in a crash on Harris Lake in Chatham County.
Quinten Kight, 40, of Vass told police he had been drinking alcohol before the propeller of his boat killed Brooklyn, The New & Observer reported, citing police search warrants.
Brooklyn, another child and 41-year-old Jennifer Stehle were swimming behind Stehle’s boat, Capt. Nathan Green with the Wildlife Resources Commission said at an Aug. 7 news conference. Stehle was seriously injured.
Kight’s girlfriend and the owner of the boat, 56-year-old Annemarie Flanigan, were indicted on second-degree murder charges, according to ABC11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner.
Expect sobriety checkpoints, state says
In Friday’s boater safety announcement, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission referred to Brooklyn’s death and said its officers will conduct sobriety checkpoints and promote public awareness “to deter impaired operation of cars and boats on various bodies of water and highways.”
Local police and sheriff’s offices and groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving are participating in the campaign.
“In North Carolina, a driver or vessel operator with a blood-alcohol concentration that meets or exceeds .08, or is appreciably impaired by alcohol and/or drugs, is subject to arrest,” according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission announcement on social media.
According to the commission, at least 100 dangerous boating incidents have occurred on N.C. lakes this year, including several involving alcohol, ABC11 reported.
