A woman identified as Charlotte Brown died when she was thrown from a speedboat and into the Thames while on a date with a man she met online. She was not wearing a life jacket which her family said would have saved her life. The English literature graduate, who had a love of flying and enjoyed success in the air cadets as a solo glider pilot, was a “confident swimmer” but how she couldn't swim herself to safety is still a mystery.
The 24-year-old business development consultant from Welling, south-east London, met her 29-year-old date online and the pair had been in contact for around a month, with Ms Brown “excited” to see him in person, according to her family.
Her first trip on a speedboat after having dinner with the man turned tragic when she and the man were thrown into the water. The Metropolitan Police’s Marine Support Unit, a helicopter and the coastguard were called after receiving reports of screams coming from the Thames near Wandsworth Bridge, south-west London, at around 11.45pm. The pair were pulled from the water and rushed to hospital, but she later died.
Charlotte Brown died after falling into the Thames while inside a speedboat
A post-mortem examination was held on Friday as St George’s Hospital mortuary which could not determine the cause of her death. When police broke the tragic news to her mother, Roz Wickens, 50, a former London Ambulance Service emergency medical technician, she was inconsolable.
She said:
“I am so totally devastated I can’t put it into words, but when people see what a beautiful woman she is, they will know how everyone loved her, she touched so many hearts.
“This is the worst thing I have ever had to do in my life, it is so terrible.”
The family faces an agonising wait as police carry out their investigation into the death, which they have deemed non-suspicious. An inquest will open on Tuesday, December 15, under the Wandsworth Coroner death was established and the coroner ordered further tests. The family believe she would have survived if precautions were taken.
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