A SPEEDBOAT skipper has been cleared over the death of a schoolgirl killed when he crashed into a buoy.

Emily Lewis suffered "unsurvivable" injuries when the rigid inflatable boat (RIB) smashed into the structure at 42.2mph in Southampton.

The 15-year-old was crushed against a metal handle after skipper Michael Lawrence allegedly failed to see the "massive" buoy for 14 seconds.

Lawrence has now been cleared of manslaughter following a trial at Winchester Crown Court.

He was convicted of failing to maintain a proper lookout and failing to maintain a safe speed.

Jurors heard how Emily's parents Simon and Nikki Lewis had decided to take her and their other daughter Amy for the speedboat ride in August 2020 as a post-lockdown treat.

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The 60-minute RIB ride was advertised as "adrenaline-fuelled", involving "speed", "tight turns" and "wake rides".

But Lawrence was accused of recklessly taking risks by performing daring stunts before he ploughed into the huge metal buoy.

Emily's mum Nikki told the court how she felt unsafe while on the journey with her family.

She said: "All I remember was hitting something, I don't remember seeing the buoy.

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"The next thing I knew was Amy screaming.

"I had shot forward at an angle, my arm broke and I was turned around, I was skewed on the floor. I was slumped and I was in so much pain, I was numb.

"I looked for Emily, she was on the floor: 'OMG, she's blue'.

"Amy was screaming 'help my sister, help my sister'.

"I remember the skipper on the phone saying 'I've had a bad one mate'. He was walking down the boat."

The mum had told jurors Lawrence "didn't do anything for me and my family".

She recalled how Emily was "freaked out" so she kept telling her daughter to "stay with us".

When paramedics arrived, Nikki told jurors she was still convinced her daughter was not going to die.

Tragically, the teen's fate dawned on her as they arrived at hospital.

She said: "She had lost so much blood they could not get her blood pressure up.

"It was not Emily. She had lost so much oxygen, her brain was starved of oxygen. She was not going to gain anything."

Emily's sister Amy, then aged 18, told jurors about the schoolgirl's heartbreaking "last words" as she lay dying.

She said the teen begged "I just want to go home, I just want to go home" while she drifted in and out of consciousness.

Amy told how she saw her sister on the ground hunched over after a hoop had gone "straight into her stomach".

The group were taken back to shore where Emily "woke up and started screaming" she could not see.

Amy added: "Emily said 'everyone get off me' but nobody was touching her, she was claustrophobic, I think it was because everything was collapsing inside of her."

Prosecutors claimed Lawrence's driving was "extremely dangerous" and his actions were "truly exceptionally bad".

The skipper – nicknamed "Mr Safe" – said a Covid mask blew up and blocked his vision before later claiming he suffered vision loss.

Other passengers on board the boat said smashing into the buoy was like "hitting a brick wall".

The skipper denied 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.

Jurors are still deliberating on Seadogz Rib Charter Ltd owner Michael Howley, 52, who denies a safety charge.

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