Ali Watson, who was a marketing manager, was thrown into the air and died of his injuries when he and an instructor collided in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
A British dad was killed in a jetski crash as his partner watched on helplessly with their baby in her arms, an inquest heard yesterday.
Ali Watson, 28, was thrown into the air and landed face down in the water after the collision with an instructor in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Ali, a sales and marketing manager, died at the scene from blunt force chest wounds.
He had not long moved to the country with partner Charlotte Lescott and their baby for a “better life”. The inquest yesterday — held almost five years after the tragedy — heard Ali had previous experience on jet skis and was out on his own. The other jetski was driven by an instructor with a female passenger on the back. She, though, had jumped off moments before the crash due to being frightened by the speed, the coroner in Exeter, Devon, was told.
And Luisa Nicholson, assistant Devon coroner, ruled Ali died as a result of an accident. She heard that suspended jail sentences and fines were handed out to those responsible for the crash.
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Speaking at the inquest, Charlotte said: “I was holding the baby on the boat and witnessed it. My world stopped spinning the moment Ali died. I couldn’t function. The world around you is still carrying on.”
A post-mortem concluded Ali, a sales boss originally from Coventry, West Midlands, died of traumatic head and chest injuries caused by a water bike collision. There were no alcohol or drugs in his system.
Speaking at the hearing, the young man’s stepfather said he had the “gift of the gab” and was successful in his work. He was someone who always liked to please others and had “strong family values”.
The entrepreneur was previously described as a “remarkable young man” in tributes led by his mum. He was father to a four-month-old baby when he died.
His mum said: “Ali was a remarkable young man whose untimely death has left us utterly heartbroken. Nothing will fill the hole in our lives that Ali’s passing has left us with.
“We’ve lost a devoted son, a loyal brother, an amazing uncle, a loving partner, and a doting dad in horrific circumstances. The world is unquestionably a poorer place without him in it.”
Online fundraisers set up to help the family after his death raised thousands of pounds. His partner Charlotte, who was also on the boat trip, told the BBC her ‘whole world came crashing down’ when he was killed. She used TikTok to educate people about the importance of life insurance after being forced back to work during maternity leave.