Corporate manslaughter charge after 11-year-old girl’s speedboat death

Tuesday, February 19, 2013
12:45 PM

A watersports club has been charged with corporate manslaughter over the death of an 11-year-old girl who was hit by a speedboat during a friend’s birthday party.

Mari-Simon Cronje fell from a banana boat and was hit by the boat towing it in September 2010. She died of severe leg injuries.

The incident happened at a lake in Bedfont, west London.

Prince’s Sporting Club Limited, represented by a solicitor, was charged with corporate manslaughter and a health and safety offence at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.

One of the company’s directors, Frederick Glen Walker, 49, from Cobham in Surrey, is also facing a health and safety charge.

Wearing a dark suit with a blue shirt and blue tie, Walker spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address during the short hearing.

The next hearing will be at Southwark Crown Court on April 26.

Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle said: “This is a very tragic case, very tragic for everyone involved.”