On June 8, 2022, Alex Wood, 43, and Alison Tilsley, 63, drowned on Roadford Lake, close to Okehampton, Devon, while on a day trip from a care facility. The next day, they were both located.
The boat was not properly maintained, according to a report from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).
Water was allowed to seep into the boat and cause instability because seals on a ramp were not routinely tested and had deteriorated. As a result, the car capsized.
The two victims were “dragged to the bottom of the lake” while strapped into their motorized wheelchairs, according to the article.
Ms. Tilsley, also known as Ali, and Mr. Wood, a married man from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, lived at the Burdon Grange care facility in the neighboring town of Beaworthy.
“No one recognized the implications of carrying vulnerable people who were strapped into heavy motorized wheelchairs around a lake in an open boat,” stated Andrew Moll, the chief inspector of marine accidents at MAIB.
