Man let his date drive speedboat at 'full throttle' moments before crash
Jack Shepherd, 30, took Charlotte Brown, 23, on his boat on the River Thames as part of his 'seduction route' but did not even ask her if she could swim
A website developer who took a woman on a date admitted he let her take the wheel of his speedboat and drive it at 'full throttle' moments before crashing, a court heard.
Jack Shepherd, 30, took Charlotte Brown, 23, on the River Thames as part of his 'seduction routine' but did not even ask her if she could swim.
Shepherd had taken Ms Brown up the Shard for a meal on December 8, 2015 on their first date. The court heard they had two bottles of wine and further drinks at his houseboat in Hammersmith, west London.
He suggested going out on his speedboat with a bottle of champagne to see the Houses of Parliament but they capsized near Wandsworth Bridge shortly after Ms Brown took the wheel.
Shepherd survived the ordeal but Ms Brown died due to cold water immersion and intoxication.
In court, Shepherd said: 'The water would have been calm. I remember hanging on to the bar in front of the passenger seat.
'I don't normally have to do that. I normally just sit there and relax. The last thing I remember was hanging on.'
Jurors heard that Shepherd remarked at having to hold onto the bar, which was 'probably not a good sign'.
Charlotte Brown died after falling into the River Thames in December 2015
He also confessed to going 'flat out' at speeds of 30mph on the long stretches of waterway he 'considers safe'.
An officer asked what kind of speed Ms Brown was doing, to which he replied: 'Full throttle to have to be hanging on, and maybe steering slightly erratically.
'We must have hit something, or she cornered quickly.'
Shepherd also admitted that neither of them wore life jackets and jurors heard he 'didn't get around' to attaching the kill cord, which would have cut the engine should she have gone overboard.
'In the past, with other girlfriends, I have done the right thing about letting them know about the life jackets, although not suggesting they actually wear it.'
The prosecution told jurors Shepherd had been stopped on his boat just a few months earlier, on August 22, 2015.
He had been taking the boat up to The Shard where he was taking another girl for a date.
His previous date asked him to slow down and marine police officers stopped him to say he had been going at speed and were not wearing life jackets.
And police spoke to Shepherd on September 10, three months before the fatal incident.
Graham Brown (left) and Roz Wickens (right), the parents of Charlotte, were in the Old Bailey for the trial
He was stopped heading back towards Hammersmith after he was seen driving at speeds around 30 knots when the limit was just 12 knots.
It was also pointed out to Shepherd that while not a requirement, his life jacket was not attached. A similar observation was made regarding the kill cord, jurors heard.
The boat was also found with defects which would have made it difficult for an inexperienced driver.
Shepherd, from Abergavenny, Wales, denies manslaughter by gross negligence.
The trial continues.