Skipper Brendan Faithfull pleads guilty over boat crash that killed girlfriend Samantha Jones

A speedboat skipper was nude and intoxicated in the lead-up to a horror crash on the Hawkesbury River that claimed the life of his hairdresser girlfriend.

Samantha Jones died in a horrific boat crash when the boat she was travelling in mounted the riverbank in Wilberforce. Pictures: Supplied

A speedboat skipper was drunk, naked and “yahooing” in the lead-up to a horror crash on the Hawkesbury River that claimed the life of his hairdresser girlfriend.

Court documents reveal Brendan Mark Faithfull, 39, knew he’d had a gutful of booze and was over the legal alcohol limit as he navigated his Malibu Wakesetter ski boat up river on February 4 last year after an outing to Brooklyn with his girlfriend, 31-year-old British-born Samantha Louise Jones.

Faithfull even went as far as to contact a friend asking if he could pick them up from the boat ramp at Windsor, telling him “I think I will be over the limit”.

But the loved-up couple never made it back, their fun and frivolous Sunday outing ending in disaster just five kilometres from home.

The court heard the pair had spent the afternoon boozing at the Patonga Hotel before getting takeaway drinks for their return journey.

According to court documents, several witnesses reported seeing Faithfull in various states of undress and paying no attention to navigating the boat as it travelled at speed along the river.

Samantha Jones was living her dream life in the Hawkesbury, working as a hairdresser and a volunteer with St John’s Ambulance when her life was tragically cut short in February last year.

Ms Jones died when the boat she was travelling in with her boyfriend, Mark Faithfull, crashed on the Hawkesbury River.

A fisherman at Wisemans Ferry said he saw the Malibu come “flying around the corner” from Laughtondale and was shocked to see Faithfull’s hands nowhere near the steering wheel as he came within 15m of the riverbank.

Perhaps even more shocking was the fact Faithfull was totally naked at the time.

“I could see the driver was standing behind the driver’s seat and he was hanging over the passenger seat,” he said.

“I noticed the male had no clothes on and was completely naked. I could see the man’s penis.”

About 35km up the river at Sackville, a homeowner and her friend copped a similar view when Faithfull’s boat came close to the shoreline.

They too reported that Faithfull wasn’t holding onto the steering wheel, and was instead swinging his arms around and yelling to get their attention.

They said he almost crashed into a submerged tree while “yahooing” before disappearing out of view.

The scene of the crash after police took more than an hour to locate the site in failing light.

The banged up Malibu Wakesetter pictured the following day. Picture: 7News

Another river user told police he was towing skiers in a friend’s boat when Faithfull grabbed his exposed penis and swung it in a “helicopter motion” towards them as the Malibu scooted past.

The man said he saw Ms Jones sitting on the lounge seat facing backwards, laughing, with her legs up.

Two more witnesses reported seeing Faithfull driving at speed and erratically near Cattai, telling police the boat was swerving from side to side, close enough to the bank to spray it with water each time Faithfull made an “aggressive” turn.

The court heard CCTV cameras from a riverside property at Pitt Town picked up a loud cracking sound just after 8.10pm, which police say was the noise made when the Malibu collided with the riverbank.

Court documents said Faithfull has no recollection of the moment the Malibu hit the riverbank, ploughing through shrubs and trees before coming to rest almost entirely out of the water and leaving a trail of debris in its path.

What Faithfull can remember, however, is frantically calling triple-0 and telling the operator he’d been in a boat crash.

He said his partner was “breathing but not awake”, and covered in blood.

He commenced CPR, but tragically it took emergency services more than an hour to locate the site due to the failing light.

Incredibly, the court heard the team of paramedics who did eventually find the wreckage jumped into the river and swam more than 50m upstream to gain access to the boat, but Ms Jones was already dead by the time they arrived.

Ms Jones’ parents paid tribute to her in the days after her death, describing her as “our beautiful shining star”.

Faithful spoke at Ms Jones’ funeral service, saying ‘I cannot believe you are gone and I cannot imagine doing life without you’.

Faithfull was taken to hospital for treatment to a cut on his shoulder, where a blood test revealed he had an alcohol reading of 0.119g – more than double the legal alcohol limit.

The court heard he had consumed at least eight drinks that afternoon and police found several empty Corona beer bottles on the floor of the boat.

Faithfull was arrested in June and charged with dangerous navigation causing death.

He pleaded guilty to the charge last month and will face sentencing in the NSW District Court in May.

Ms Jones’ parents paid tribute to her in the days after her death, describing her as “our beautiful shining star”, while Faithfull spoke at her funeral service.

“Samantha, you were truly the most beautiful person that I ever met,” he said.

“I cannot believe you are gone and I cannot imagine doing life without you.”

Originally published as Skipper Brendan Faithfull pleads guilty over boat crash that killed girlfriend Samantha Jones