British father dies in Greece after horror crash on 'sofa dinghy' speedboat ride

Tragedy: The accident occurred off the coast of Lassi in Kefalonia on the last day of a dream holiday
Shutterstock / Lucian BOLCA
Tom Powell26 May 2017

A British father-of-three has died on holiday in Greece while riding an inflatable being towed by a speedboat.

Simon Crewe, 57, was travelling at high speed on the ‘sofa dinghy’ with his brother and a friend off the coast of Kefalonia when a “massive bang” was heard.

His brother David was hit on the head by an unidentified object while their friend was thrown off the sofa and into the water.

After searching for the friend, David and the boat crew quickly realised Mr Crewe had collapsed on the sofa and was not moving.

He was pronounced dead at the scene after desperate attempts to perform first aid. The friend was taken to hospital with internal injuries.

David told the Leicester Mercury that the tragedy occurred on the final day of a “brilliant week’s holiday.”

"Two of our partners, including his partner Vicki, got into the speedboat with the driver, facing us so they could see us being towed behind," he said.

"The ride had begun and there was a massive bang.

"Something hit my head. I thought we must have hit a wave. "Our friend was thrown into the sea and disappeared completely.

"I turned to Simon and - I don't know what had happened, but I watched him die."

Greek police are now investigating how the tragedy occurred, while the Greek coroner’s office is carrying out an inquest.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson told the Standard: “Our staff have offered advice to the partner of a British man who has died in Greece. We remain in contact with the Greek authorities.”

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