Overview
- The Brighton inquest on Tuesday returned a narrative conclusion after finding Eddie, 14, suffered unsurvivable injuries from a speedboat propeller.
- The coroner said the evidence did not meet the legal test for unlawful killing or gross negligence manslaughter.
- He found the vessel was likely moving within Opunohu Bay’s 20-knot limit despite eyewitness claims it was going too fast.
- Toxicology for the driver was negative despite his account of wine at lunch and late-night drinking, a result the coroner said was hard to reconcile.
- The hearing was told the skipper’s navigation licence had expired, and separate French Polynesian investigations ended without charges despite appeals.