A “thrill ride” speedboat captain who crashed into a metal buoy, causing fatal injuries to a teen passenger, has been cleared of manslaughter.
Michael Lawrence was found guilty of failing to maintain an appropriate lookout and a safe pace during the 22 August 2020 collision that killed Emily Lewis, age 15, in Southampton Water.
Emily was transported to the hospital, where her parents later decided to disconnect her life support machine.
In March, Lawrence will be sentenced.
During the trial at Winchester Crown Court, it was revealed that Emily’s parents had taken her and her sister on Seadogz’s Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) during the summer vacation.
The RIB was recorded traveling at 47.8 knots, exceeding an expired speed limit of 40 knots (46mph) that Lawrence. According to the prosecution, believed was still in effect.
The Stormforce 950 RIB crossed the Red Falcon ferry wake five times in “excellent conditions,” according to the court.
It then collided with the North West Netley buoy, which measures 4.69m above the waterline and weighs five tonnes, ejecting two passengers into the water and injuring several others.
Emily was crushed against a metal handrail, while several other passengers sustained severe injuries.
Doctors informed her family that she had suffered oxygen deprivation to the brain and that her injuries were “incurable.”
Christine Agnew KC, the prosecutor, stated that the boat was driven directly at the buoy for 14 seconds at 36.6 knots. And charged 55-year-old Lawrence with manslaughter by gross negligence.
She said that immediately after the tragedy, Lawrence told witnesses that his face mask had blown over his eyes.
The captain, however, told the jury that he lost his vision in what felt like “a split second.”
The court heard that a medical condition such as a blood clot in an artery in his eye was unlikely to have caused his vision loss because it was unlikely to have affected both eyes simultaneously.
Ms. Agnew informed the jury that either Lawrence was preoccupied or he miscalculated the sharp turn around the buoy.
“In either event, according to the prosecution, his actions that day fell far short of a competent captain,” she continued.
Lawrence was described as a “very experienced mariner” and “Mr. Safe and Mr. Cautious” by his co-defendant in court.
In addition to serving as an RNLI lifeboatman for twenty years. He held a variety of certifications and was the director of a training facility that offered powerboat classes.
During the trial, Lawrence was questioned if the phrase “some seafarers can be show-offs” described him.
No, he responded. “I attempted to provide a ride that met their expectations and desires. Well within the limits of the boat and my ability.”
He continued, “I’ve spent my entire life on the water and I’ve spent my entire life trying to save people and teaching others how to be safe on the water.”
When his vision returned, he saw the buoy and sought to stop the boat. According to his last memories before the collision.
The jury has not yet decided Seadogz owner Michael Howley, 52. Who is accused of operating the vessel in an unsafe manner.
