The family of a schoolgirl who died after being trapped under a capsized speedboat has called for all power-vessel drivers to be compelled to have training and hold a licence.
Emily Gardner, 14, plunged into the water after the speedboat driven by a friend’s father hit a “hill of blue” and her oversized buoyancy aid became snagged, trapping her underwater.
Giving a narrative verdict, a jury in Torquay, Devon, said Emily drowned after the webbing straps at the back of the buoyancy aid became entangled on a cleat at the rear of the boat.
Speaking afterwards, her parents, Clive and Deborah, from Gloucester, said they used to go everywhere together as a family but allowed their “beautiful daughter” to experience something new and exciting.
They said: “If we had known that powerboat drivers do not have to have a licence or training we would never have let her go and she would still be alive today.
“We need people to become aware of the absence of legislation to ensure the safety of passengers on leisure craft and will campaign for laws to be brought in to close this legal loophole.
“We can’t bring Emily back, but we don’t want another family to have to endure what we have been through. As a result we will be calling for the introduction of Emily’s Law.”
Describing their loss, they said: “When Emily died, a life full of dreams and adventures was extinguished, along with our hopes for our beautiful daughter.
“She was always giggling and her laugh would last a whole day sometimes if she found something funny. Everywhere she went her smile shone out. She would stand tall and proud in anything she did.”
The family’s lawyer, Richard Langton, said: “An ill-fitting buoyancy aid contributed to this tragedy. Evidence given at the inquest was that there is no legal requirement for passengers, even children, to wear a properly fitting lifejacket or any lifejacket at all.
“It is incomprehensible that the UK is one of the few countries in Europe that does not require licences for people to drive speedboats. This needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency to increase safety standards across the industry.”
The inquest heard that 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.
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.”
Members of the party and a lifeboat crew raced to try to free Emily, 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.
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.”
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.”
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 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”.
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 accident.
In a statement released after the inquest, Marr and Pritchard said: “We deeply regret the tragic incident on May 2 2015 and wish to offer our condolences to Emily’s family and friends.”
