Speedboat skipper's vision blocked by face mask before crash, court told
Emily Lewis, 15, was killed during a thrill ride on Southampton Water
A jury has been told a speedboat skipper claimed his face mask blew across his eyes before his RIB crashed into a buoy in Southampton Water, killing a 15-year-old girl.
Emily Lewis suffered fatal injuries after the rigid inflatable boat (rib) collided with a 4.5 metre high buoy while travelling at 36.8 knots (42 mph) in August 2020.
Winchester Crown Court heard 55-year-old Michael Lawrence told a paramedic the mask had blocked his vision.
Giving evidence at the trial, paramedic Megan Hunt, who attended Ocean Village in Southampton, after the passengers had been brought ashore, said that Lawrence had told her his face mask had blown up and blocked his vision prior to the crash.
"By the time he put it in place, the buoy was too close to them and he had no time to turn the boat."
She said that Lawrence wore a face mask because he was doing the shopping for his parents who were shielding at that time.
She said: "Mr Lawrence told me he was driving the boat and the wind blew up in his face and it blew his visor and face mask up obstructing his view, I guess covering his eyes.
Miss Hunt said that Lawrence had suffered an injury to his knee during the collision.
Duncan Christie, a marine officer for Associated British Ports, said he was driving a launch on the day of the crash and was alerted to the accident.
He said that when he arrived at the rib, he found Lawrence, who he had known since 1996 when they had worked on lifeboats together, "very distressed and in a panic".
Mr Christie said: "He said that the Covid mask had gone up over his face, the wind had blown it up and covered his eyes."
When asked by Lawrence's counsel, Karim Khalil KC, if Lawrence was a "safe pair of hands" whom you could "totally rely on" and who was popular in the RNLI community, Mr Christie agreed and said he "certainly was".
He also agreed with Mr Khalil's suggestion that Lawrence was "absolutely not the sort of mariner who would want to take risks" or "who would deliberately aim at a fixed object".
The court has heard that Lawrence later changed his story and said that he had lost his vision because of some kind of blackout, rather than the face mask.
Michael Lawrence, 55, has been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, failing to maintain a proper lookout and failing to proceed at a safe speed.
Michael Howley, 52, the owner of Seadogz, the company which operated the boat trip, is accused of not operating the boat safely.
Mr Christie's colleague, Jamie McLeod, said that when he attended the accident he saw Ms Lewis on board a rib as she was being taken ashore.
He said: "She was confused and was unwell. I could see immediately, kneeling down next to her, she was very unwell, she was very pale, she was breathing."
Mr McLeod said that as he accompanied Lawrence back to the shore, the defendant told him repeatedly that "his face mask had blown over his eyes and obscured his vision".
Mr McLeod added that he saw a black face mask in the centre console of the Seadogz rib involved in the accident as well as a helmet visor which looked like it had been "removed in a hurry".
He said that he had known Lawrence for six years and described him as a "professional and conscientious" skipper.
Lawrence, of Blackfield, New Forest; and Howley, of Hordle, New Forest; deny the charges and the trial continues.