A speedboat skipper nicknamed ‘Mr Safe’ who smashed into a huge 15ft buoy and killed his schoolgirl passenger today told a court he didn’t spot it as he went ‘lightheaded’ and momentarily lost his vision ‘like a sneeze’.
‘Respected’ mariner Michael Lawrence said he felt like couldn’t see for a ‘split second’ although jurors have heard the ‘massive’ navigation buoy would have been visible for 14 seconds.
A court has heard the 55 year old, who took a selfie during the trip, drove straight into the fixed, metal buoy at 36.6kts (42.2mph), killing 15-year-old Emily Lewis and leaving other passengers badly injured.
A total of 11 passengers were taken to hospital, with Mrs Lewis suffering a broken wrist, Amy suffering a broken arm, and Emily dying later that day from her chest injuries.
Lawrence, facing a manslaughter by gross negligence charge, is accused of recklessly taking risks by performing daring stunts before he ploughed into the huge metal buoy.
He claimed a Covid mask blew up and blocked his vision – later changing his story to say he suffered vision loss – while prosecutors allege his driving was ‘extremely dangerous’ and his actions were ‘truly exceptionally bad’.
Undated handout photo issued by Hampshire Police of Emily Lewis
Jurors at Winchester Crown Court were shown a selfie Michael Lawrence took on the trip
Nikki and husband Simon Lewis took their daughters Emily and Amy on the Seadogz Ltd speedboat ride on Southampton Water, Hants, on August 22, 2020 as a ‘treat’ following lockdown.
It was also heard Lawrence paced up and down the boat after the crash talking on his phone, stepping over injured passengers who he failed to help.
Giving evidence at Winchester Crown Court, Hants, Mrs Lewis said his safety briefing was ‘wishy-washy’ and ‘not as professional’ as those she’d had before. She described Emily as a ‘happy young lady’ who was looking forward to the 60 minute RIB ride.
Mr Lewis described the RIB ride as ‘violent’, Mrs Lewis said Lawrence did ‘nothing to help their daughter’, and Emily’s sister Amy said she was ‘very scared’ when she saw the teen dying in hospital.
Today, giving evidence for the first time, ‘well qualified’ skipper Lawrence claimed he didn’t see the buoy as he suffered a momentary loss of vision, comparing it to what he said felt like the length of a ‘sneeze’.
He also defended the speeds he drove at.
Lawrence said: ‘The ride on the day, until the last bit, was a ride we had done many times before.
‘I didn’t believe anything I was doing was unsafe.
‘The only thing I can say by way of an explanation is, I’ve spent my whole life on the water, I’ve gone out to show people how to be safe and when it’s gone wrong to save people.’
He broke down as he said ‘at no point would I go out to…’ and shook his head to say he is not a ‘show off’.
‘I tried to give a ride that was what they expected and wanted and well within the limits of the boat and well within the limits of my capabilities’, he added.
Lawrence said he would never deliberately drive straight at a buoy and turn away at the last-minute for a thrill, saying: ‘I don’t believe that’s a safe thing to do.
‘I’ve never done that in all of my career, I’ve never headed at a buoy and turned at the last minute, I don’t believe it to be safe.’
He confessed during the trip he didn’t look at the speedometer. ‘I didn’t look at the speedo to see how fast I was going,’ he told jurors.
‘I derived the speed from a number of factors – engine noise, wind, spray. There’s a number of different factors you can gauge for the speed of the boat.
‘It was not an unsafe speed.
‘That morning there was no traffic about, no other vessels, and the water was flat. It was very uneventful, there was nothing that was going to make the ride not enjoyable.’
Recalling the crash, Lawrence said: ‘I remember making the turn and I straightened the boat up and the last I remember we were straight and level and I recall seeing the flats [on the shoreline] in front.
Owner Michael Howley is also on trial at Winchester Crown Court on a safety charge
Michael Lawrence (left) and Michael Howley (right) at a previous court appearance
‘I don’t ever remember seeing the buoy and I do not know what caused it, I’m sorry.
‘I certainly would not put the passengers at risk and I would not want to put myself at risk, but I would not want to put the passengers at risk.
‘All I can remember is I came around the turn, straightened the boat up, and felt a little bit lightheaded maybe, I don’t know how to describe that.
‘Then I lost my vision, then it came back.
‘In my timeline, when I lost my vision to the time it came back, it was a split second, that’s how it felt.
‘I don’t know how to explain it, I referred to it as like [the length of] a sneeze. It was a split second.
‘I don’t know whether I blinked, and as my vision cleared the buoy was right in front of us.
‘As soon as I saw the buoy my thought was pulling the throttle back which should stop the boat.
‘As I pulled the throttle back I heard the thud, that’s all I can remember.
‘When I next have a memory, everything had changed, there was people everywhere, and the next thing I did was I think I glanced to the radio and looked down and saw my knee was a funny shape.
‘I thought it was odd, I thought I’ve got to sort something out so I pushed my knee and it clicked back in place.
‘I could see people in the water and my first thought was I’ve got to get people back from the water.’
Lawrence admitted his ‘brain was jumbled’ and has hazy memories about the immediate aftermath following the crash.
He wept as he also said: ‘I will be criticised I’m sure, but I spent many years on a lifeboat, I’ve been to many major incidents, and I’ve seen many horrible things.
‘I have been used to going in after an incident with the helicopter vision of being a rescuer, but I’ve never been rescued before and I think I had problems coping with that.’
Lawrence earlier sobbed as he told the court the ‘pleasure has gone’ from his love of boats. ‘I liked all boats, I had a fascination’, he said tearfully.
Lawrence said he has had a ‘connection’ with the water since he was a young child, first had a ‘little’ speedboat when he was a teenager, and has many qualifications including ones for powerboats.
He was in the RNLI for 20 years and drove boats for Seadogz for eight years.
Lawrence has two sons – chef Sam and second officer on a ship Ben, both in their 20s – with wife Karen, who he married in 1990.
The speedboat following the crash on August 22 2020
He told jurors he took a selfie on the trip after ‘slowing right down’ to ‘show his wife and family he had been taking Covid precautions’.
He said of the boat: ‘It was a highly capable boat, one of the most capable boats I’ve ever driven. They are 300 brake horsepower [twin] engines, so 600 combined.
‘The boat would do, in round figures, 60 knots [69mph] comfortably. The boat was very, very capable and the handling was exceptional.’
Lawrence, of Blackfield, Hants, denies manslaughter by gross negligence, failure to maintain a proper lookout as master of the boat, and failing to proceed at a safe speed while operating the boat.
Seadogz owner Michael Howley, 52, is also on trial facing a safety charge.
Howley, of Hordle, Hants, denies ‘failing to take all reasonable steps to secure the boat operated in a safe manner’.
The four-week trial continues.
