THE family of Emily Lewis have issued a statement after the skipper of the boat which crashed into a buoy and the owner of the company behind the boat were spared jail.

The 15-year-old girl died after suffering serious injuries when a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) hit a 4.5m high buoy at 36.6 knots on Southampton Water.

A number of other passengers were also seriously injured in the crash on August 22, 2020.

Michael Lawrence, 55, of Hartsgrove Avenue, Blackfield, was convicted of failing to maintain a proper lookout and a safe speed during the crash that killed Emily. He was found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.

Michael Howley, 52, of Deer Park Close, New Milton, who owned the company operating the RIB, was convicted of failing to secure that a ship is operated in a safe manner.

Judge Mr Justice Christopher Butcher sentenced both to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered they each complete 125 hours unpaid work.

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In a statement, Emily's family said: "After two and a half long years, we have managed to get some of the justice that Emily so deserved, and that the responsibility for her death as well as the life-changing injuries to the other passengers on board that day has finally been proven.

"Every one of us on the boat, including Mr Lawrence, were seriously affected both physically and mentally by the mistakes he made on that day.

"We do appreciate that Mr Lawrence did not set out that day for events to happen in this tragic way.

"However, the way in which he dealt with the unfolding situation fell far below our expectations of the very qualified mariner he was known to be.

"Due to the haphazard implementation of the guidance by Mr Howley, which if it had been followed more rigorously would have likely resulted in there being no crash, and Mr Lawrence's over confidence in his abilities, all of us on the RIB that day have found ourselves in this incredibly dire situation of serious injuries and, most obviously, the death of Emily.

"As you may imagine, not a day goes by without us missing Emily.

"The loss of someone so young, vital, and full of life is truly a burden to bear.

"We now hope that we may be able to start to rebuild our lives and be able to grieve for the loss of our wonderful daughter, Emily."