Emily Lewis: Speedboat skipper cleared of teenager's manslaughter

A "thrill ride" speedboat skipper who careered into a metal buoy leaving a teenage passenger with fatal injuries has been cleared of manslaughter.

But Michael Lawrence was convicted of failing to maintain a proper lookout and a safe speed during the crash that killed 15-year-old Emily Lewis in Southampton Water on 22 August 2020.

Emily was taken to hospital where her parents later made the decision to turn off her life support machine.

Lawrence will be sentenced on 17 March.

Michael Howley, 52, who owned the Seadogz rigid inflatable boat (RIB) involved in the crash, was found guilty by majority verdict of failing to operate the boat safely.

The trial at Winchester Crown Court heard how Emily's parents had taken her and her sister on the Seadogz RIB during the summer holidays.

The RIB was recorded traveling at speeds of 47.8 knots - in excess of an expired speed limit of 40 knots (46mph) that the prosecution said Lawrence had believed to still be in place.

The ride took place in "perfect conditions", with the Stormforce 950 RIB crossing the wake of the Red Falcon ferry five times, the court heard.

It then headed straight towards the North West Netley buoy, which measures 4.69m above the water line and weighs five tonnes, throwing two passengers into the water and injuring several others on impact.

Emily was crushed against a metal handrail while a number of other passengers were seriously injured.

Her family were told by doctors she had suffered oxygen starvation to the brain and her injuries were "unsurvivable".

Christine Agnew KC, prosecuting, said the boat was driven straight at the buoy for 14 seconds at 36.6 knots and accused 55-year-old Lawrence of gross negligence manslaughter.

Immediately following the tragedy, Lawrence told witnesses his face mask had blown over his eyes, she said.

However, the skipper told the jury he had lost his vision in what felt like "a split second".

The court heard a medical cause such as a blood clot in an artery in his eye was unlikely to have caused vision loss as it was unlikely to have affected both eyes at once.

Ms Agnew told the jury that Lawrence was either distracted or miscalculated a sharp turn around the buoy.

"In either event the prosecution say that his actions that day fell far below those of a competent skipper," she said.

Lawrence was said in court to be an "extremely experienced mariner" and his co-defendant described him as "Mr Safe and Mr Cautious".

As well as serving as an RNLI lifeboatman for 20 years, he held a number of qualifications and was also the principal of his training centre, which held powerboat courses.

It was put to Lawrence during the trial that "some mariners can be show-offs" and asked if that described him.

"No," he replied. "I tried to give a ride that was the ride they expected and wanted - well within the limits of the boat and within my capability."

He added: "I've spent my whole life on the water and my whole life I have gone to show people how to be safe on the water and I have gone out to try to save people."

Lawrence said he had neither aimed the boat at the buoy nor deliberately tried to change direction from it at "the last moment" as it was a practice he considered unsafe.

He said his final memories before the crash were losing his vision in what felt like "a split second" and, when it returned, he saw the buoy and attempted to stop the boat.

After the verdict for Seadogz owner Howley was read out, prosecutor David Richards told the court three other people had suffered injuries in separate accidents involving the company's vessels.

In one incident in 2012, a man was severely injured and later paid £300,000 in a settlement, the barrister said.

Howley's defence barrister James Newton-Price KC said no court proceedings had taken place following these other cases.

He said the accidents happened over a period of 10 years and that it was "not surprising" given the nature of the rides that RIBs undertook.

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