Dad shares heartbreaking final text from his daughter ‘predicting’ her death in boat accident
The 14-year-old girl drowned when a speedboat capsized and trapped her underneath
A FATHER who lost his daughter in a tragic speedboat accident has shared the last text he received from her which he thinks was "some kind of premonition".
Emily Gardner, who died during the May Bank Holiday last year after she was trapped under a speedboat while sailing off the Devon coast, sent her dad a message with two emojis - a wave and a sleeping face.
This was sent just hours before the 14-year-old girl drowned.
Clive Gardner, 44, said: "It was the very last time I heard from Emily.
"Now I think it was some sort of premonition. It felt so strange to me. I'm not a superstitious person but after what happened, the text makes sense to me."
That was the last time Clive and his wife Debbie heard from Emily, while she was on holiday in Devon with her best friend and another pal.
The couple are now calling for "Emily's Law" to tighten restrictions on privately owned boats and stronger maritime regulations.
The boat which capsized and trapped Emily under it was being driven by her best friend's dad, Paul Pritchard. It is thought to have flipped when it hit a 6ft wave.
Debbie said: "Emily was desperate to go away so we gave in.
"It sounded like they were going to have a fun weekend, and as out family didn't have much planned, we let her go.
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"We've been robbed of watching our little girl grow up, of celebrating her 16th birthday this year and going to her prom.
"If we'd known there were no laws covering leisure crafts then we would never have let Emily go.
"This is every parent's nightmare – but we're determined to keep her memory alive."
Emily's life jacket got caught on the cleat of the speedboat - where ropes are attached - holding her underwater when the boat capsized.
Lifeboat crews could not free her for 25 minutes and attempts to revive the teenager at hospital failed.
The inquest jury in Torquay in June found Emily died after her "ill-fitting" buoyancy aid became entangled on one of the speedboat's cleats.
The family's lawyer Richard Langton, from Slater and Gordon, said: "To lose a child is horrific for any parent, but to lose one in such avoidable circumstances has been very difficult for the Gardners to bear.
"It beggars belief that there is no legal requirement for all passengers, especially children, to wear a properly fitting life jacket or any life jacket at all, and that drivers of powerful speedboats don't require training and a licence.
"That is why Slater and Gordon would urge people to support the Gardners in supporting their bid to bring in Emily's Law, so tragedies like this never happen again."
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