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Inquest resumes into Gloucester girl's speedboat death Inquest resumes into Gloucester girl's speedboat death
(about 5 hours later)
An inquest jury has watched a webcam video of a 14-year-old girl heading out on a speedboat trip moments before it capsized leaving her trapped beneath it. A schoolgirl taken on a speedboat ride by her friend’s father drowned when the vessel capsized after hitting a “hill of blue” and her oversized buoyancy aid became snagged, trapping her underwater.
Emily Gardner was a passenger on the vessel, which had just left Brixham, south Devon, last May. Within seconds of passing a breakwater the 5 metre-long (18ft) boat capsized. Emily was trapped by her buoyancy aid to a cleat at the back of the boat, which sank beneath the 1.1 metre (3.5ft) waves. Members of the party and a lifeboat crew raced to try to free 14-year-old Emily Gardner, who was stuck 3 metres (11ft) beneath the wave-whipped surface, but it took 25 minutes to get her clear and she could not be saved, an inquest jury heard.
At a packed inquest hearing in Torquay, Devon, on Tuesday family members, including her parents Clive and Deborah, wept as they watched the 15-minute video of the boat launch and the rescue attempt. The inquest heard Paul Pritchard was driving the speedboat with his 15-year-old daughter Holly beside him, while Emily and another friend, Gemma, were at the back. Philip Marr, who co-owned the boat with Pritchard, and his son Luke Holland-Bowyer accompanied the speedboat on jetskis as it left Brixham in Devon. Soon after passing a breakwater the 5 metre-long (18ft) boat hit the wave.
They also saw as the lifeboat crew carried Emily off the lifeboat to a waiting ambulance on the public slipway. The senior Torbay coroner, Ian Arrow, had warned the 11 jurors that the video was “extremely stressful”. Holland-Bowyer, 18, said the wave “came out of nowhere”. In a statement read to the jury he said: “It must have been big. It was like a hill of blue – no white in the wave at all. It was all blue.”
The inquest heard she had been a passenger in the speedboat owned by Paul Pritchard and Philip Marr. Marr was on a jetski in front of the boat, which was driven by 50-year-old Pritchard. A second jetski was being ridden by Marr’s son, Luke Holland-Bowyer. He said the next time he saw the boat it was upside down and Pritchard and Gemma were screaming. He spotted Holly near the propeller but he could not see Emily.
Aboard the speedboat was Holly Pritchard and Gemma Gadsden, two 15-year-old friends who managed to swim clear of the upturned hull. Holland-Bowyer said: “I jumped in the water with my dad and I remember trying to dive under the boat to find Emily five or six times. I was struggling to go under because of my lifejacket. My lifejacket was preventing me from getting to Emily. I dived in and at one point managed to get hold of her arm or leg.”
The investigating officer, DS Andrew Turner, told the hearing there had been a full inquiry into what happened and no criminal charges were brought as a result of the investigation. Pritchard said he did not see the large wave or he would have taken evasive action. He said: “The wave hit the boat from the right side causing the boat to completely flip over.”
The inquest was told that attempts were made to resuscitate Emily for 80 minutes but she was very cold and had suffered a cardiac arrest. Pritchard said the sea was “quite lumpy but manageable” and told the jury he had experienced worse conditions without any problems. He added: “I would not knowingly expose myself, my daughter or her two friends to any risks.”
Taylor said the two jetskis in their party had been at the front and rear of the boat when it “encountered a wave and overturned”. He said: “Her buoyancy aid got caught in the rear cleat in the upturned boat.” He said he had 25 years’ experience as a driver of such boats and he and his passengers wore lifejackets or buoyancy aids even though they were not a legal requirement.
The officer described the waves as “significant”. He told the jury as they watched the dramatic rescue attempt: “You can get some idea of the sea conditions – not white horses but clearly there is a swell.” Pritchard said he felt conditions were suitable for a boat trip. “I observed the sea over breakfast,” he said. “I made the decision to take the girls out in the speedboat to visit a cove a couple of miles from the harbour. I had looked at the weather forecast the day before. All three girls were looking forward to the trip.”
The Torbay lifeboat and an inshore lifeboat were launched within 23 minutes of the capsize. A crane aboard the lifeboat was used to pull the submerged speedboat from the sea – and Emily was cut free and rushed to hospital where she died. Pritchard estimated that he was driving the boat at 24mph before the wave hit, describing it as more than adequate to cope with the conditions.
Jurors were told the boat was 26 years old and had been bought by the joint owners on eBay for £1,800 in 2014. It had been serviced a couple of months before the tragedy. The inquest was told that Emily’s buoyancy aid was an adult extra-large size. Pritchard said Emily’s aid was the “best fitting available” and he tightened the straps “so it was close fitting”.
The coroner told the jury that “no one or any organisation was on trial here” and they were not to rule on “liability or apportion blame”. Rescuers explained how they tried to save Emily. John Heale, a volunteer with the RNLI, told south Devon and Torbay coroner’s court: “I jumped into the water and landed very close to Emily. Her torso and legs were floating but she was trapped around the waist area.”
Emily, from the Gloucester area, died in Torbay hospital. The inquest heard the cause of death was drowning. She was described as a good swimmer. A crane aboard a lifeboat was used to pull the submerged speedboat from the sea and Emily was cut free and rushed to hospital. The inquest was told that attempts were made to resuscitate Emily for 80 minutes but she was very cold and had suffered a cardiac arrest. Her cause of death was given as drowning.
The hearing continues. Members of Emily’s family wept as they watched the 15-minute video of the boat launch and the rescue attempt.
The investigating officer, DS Andrew Turner, told the hearing there had been a full inquiry into the incident in May last year and no criminal charges were brought.
Turner described the waves as significant. He told the jury as they watched the rescue attempt: “You can get some idea of the sea conditions – not white horses but clearly there is a swell.”
Jurors were told the boat was 26 years old and had been bought by the joint owners on eBay for £1,800 in 2014. It had been serviced a couple of months before the incident.
The marine accident investigation branch investigator, Nicholas Hanse, said Emily, from Gloucester, was wearing a waterski-vest flotation device – not a lifejacket. He thought it got snagged on the cleat by one of the webbing straps on the buoyancy aid.
Emily’s parents, Clive and Deborah, expressed concern through a legal representative about the size of the buoyancy aid given to their daughter. Richard Langton, representing the family, asked Hanse if the size of the buoyancy aid was a contributory factor in her death.
Langton told the inquest: “I think it would simply be too big for her. It would be loose all round. It is more likely that the straps would get caught.”
Hanse then told the court: “I think it would still be tight. It was done up as tight as it could be done. That’s the issue.”
A member of the jury then asked Hanse whether a properly fitted buoyancy aid would have made a difference.
He replied: “I would like to think it would be less likely, but it may or may not have made a difference. It depends on the circumstances.”
The inquest continues.