Emily Lewis Wiki – Emily Lewis Biography
But Michael Lawrence was convicted of failing to maintain proper lookout and a safe speed during the crash that killed 15-year-old Emily Lewis on Southampton Water on August 22, 2020. Emily was taken to the hospital where her parents later made the decision to turn off her life support machine.
Lawrence will be sentenced on March 17. Michael Howley, 52, owner of the Seadogz rigid inflatable boat (RIB) involved in the accident, was found guilty by majority verdict of failing to operate the boat safely. The trial at Winchester Crown Court heard how Emily’s parents took her and her sister away.
Emily Lewis Age
Emily Lewis was 29 years old.
Emily Lewis Cause of Death
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 (46 mph) which the prosecution claimed Lawrence believed was still in place. The voyage 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 for the North West Netley buoy, which measures 4.69m above the waterline and weighs five tons, throwing two passengers into the water and injuring several others on impact. Emily was crushed against a metal handrail while other passengers were seriously injured.
Doctors told her family that she had suffered oxygen deprivation to the brain and that her injuries were “insurmountable.” Christine Agnew KC, prosecutor, said the boat was driven directly towards the buoy for 14 seconds at 36.6 knots and charged Lawrence, 55, with gross negligence homicide.
Right after the tragedy, Lawrence told witnesses that his face mask had blown over his eyes, he said. However, the skipper told the jury that he had lost his vision in what seemed like “a split second.” The court heard that a medical cause, such as a blood clot in an artery in his eye, is unlikely to have caused the loss of vision, since it is unlikely that it affected both eyes at the same time.
Ms. Agnew told the jury that Lawrence was distracted or misjudged a sharp turn around the buoy. “In any event, the prosecution says that his actions that day fell far short of those of a competent captain,” she said. Lawrence was said in court to be an “extremely experienced sailor” and his co-defendant described him as “Mr. Safe and Mister Cautious”.
As well as serving as an RNLI lifeguard for 20 years, he held a number of qualifications and was also the director of his training centre, which ran powerboat courses. Lawrence was told during the trial that “some sailors can be braggarts” and was asked if that described him.
“No,” he replied. “I tried to give a trip that was the trip they expected and wanted, within the confines of the ship and within my ability. He added: ‘I’ve spent my whole life on the water and my whole life I’ve gone to show people how be safe in the water and have gone out to try to save people.
Lawrence said he did not aim the boat at the buoy or deliberately try to change direction at “the last moment” as it was a practice he considered unsafe. He said the last memories of him before the accident were losing his vision in what seemed like “a split second” and, when he returned, he saw the buoy and tried to stop the boat.
After the verdict for Seadogz owner Howley was read, prosecutor David Richards told the court that three other people suffered injuries in separate accidents involving company vessels. In a 2012 incident, a man was seriously injured and later paid £300,000 in a settlement, the lawyer said.
Howley’s defense attorney, James Newton-Price KC, said no court proceedings had taken place after these other cases. He said the accidents occurred over a 10-year period and was “not surprising” given the nature of the voyages the RIBs made.
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