Defendant in the dock for manslaughter after boat crash killed Gosport man has a conviction for speeding on the water

Aaron Brown, 34, of Botley Road, Curdridge, is charged with manslaughter after the incident in Osborne Bay, off the Isle of Wight, on June 19, 2015.

He was driving a Williams Turbojet 325 - a type of Rib - with his friend Ryan McKinlay on board when it collided with a 62ft motor cruiser boat called True Blue.

Mr McKinlay, a 36-year-old businessman from Gosport, died at the scene.

Brown is appearing at Winchester Crown Court charged with manslaughter, which he denies.

Today the court heard that Brown has a previous conviction for speeding on the River Hamble.

Brown had been fined £100, plus made to pay costs, after he was caught by officers doing 25 to 30 knots or more at 10pm on July 5, 2012 in an eight metre long Rib.

Brown, a dad-of-three who is the chief operating officer at One Com, a mobile telecoms company in Whiteley that employs 450 people, will give his evidence this afternoon.

Paul Carey, 52, of Chatsworth Road, Southampton, who was paid to be the skipper of True Blue on the fatal day, is also appearing at Winchester Crown Court charged with driving too fast in contravention of Merchant Shipping regulations.

He was driving the same Rib earlier that afternoon, doing laps close to True Blue, after being asked by Brown to take some of his friends, who were guests onboard True Blue, out.

Carey denies the charges and says he was driving at a top speed at 25 knots - a speed he says he was comfortable driving safely at as he has 33 years’ marine experience.

In a police interview, which was read out in court today, Carey said: ‘All I can say is that with my judgment on that day with the prevailing conditions was that everything was fine and I was happy to do what I was doing.’

The case proceeds.