Tragic details emerge about excited 14-year-old boy who drowned while water tubing on Christmas Eve

A 14-year-old boy was not wearing a life jacket when he drowned in a water hose incident on Christmas Eve, a court has heard.

Shaun Joseph Looby, 32, pleaded guilty at Maryborough Magistrates Court on Monday to one charge of general obligation to persons involved in the operation of the vessel to operate it safely, causing death.

Police prosecutor Sonia Edwards said Hayden Nance, his stepfather Looby and his mother Marissa Looby took their boat on the Mary River near Owanyilla, in southeast Queensland.

Looby was licensed at the time and the boat was registered with all necessary safety equipment on board, including life jackets.

The court heard it was Hayden’s first time tubing.

Hayden (pictured left) fell out of the tube, took a few swims and then went underwater on Christmas Eve

Shaun Joseph Looby (pictured) pleaded guilty to a general duty on persons engaged in the operation of the ship to operate it safely, resulting in death

Ms Edwards said Ms Looby had purchased the ski strap, which was found to be in good condition when later examined by police. Cairns Post reported.

Hayden was given a safety briefing by Looby, including how to get into the tube, where to hold on and hand signals.

Hayden did not want to wear a lifejacket, saying he was over twelve, and Looby and Mrs Looby objected but decided not to have a ‘big argument’ about it.

He started tubing for a second time around 10am that day, with the boat traveling at about 15mph, the court heard.

In footage provided to police, it appears that Looby drove ‘very calmly’ while towing the pipe and no significant turns or donuts were made.

That is understood Hayden fell out of the tube, took a few swims and then went underwater.

Mrs Looby quickly told her partner, who turned and jumped into the water to look for Hayden after he failed to resurface, but was unable to find him due to poor visibility in the muddy water.

His hysterical mother jumped in to help with the search before getting back on board and calling triple-0.

She also set off a signal flare to try to get someone else’s attention.

Divers were called in, who later found Hayden’s body, and an autopsy confirmed the cause of death was drowning.

Ms Edwards said legislation requires skiers to wear a life jacket, and wearing one would have allowed Hayden to remain upright and in the water.

“It’s still not certain what would have happened, but he wouldn’t have sunk in the river where visibility was poor and people couldn’t locate him at the time,” she said.

‘It is a situation where all parties have suffered: family members, Mr Looby, and any sentence the court could impose on Mr Looby will not change the situation or how he would feel about the situation.’

Mrs Looby (pictured right) was in court supporting her husband, who had co-operated fully with police in the aftermath of the tragedy

Mrs Looby was in court supporting her husband, who had co-operated fully with police in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Lawyer Andrew Bale said the incident had a “devastating” effect on the family and they sold the boat after it was seized and released by detectives.

“Obviously the last thing they want is for the boat to be sitting in the front ramp reminding everyone of what happened,” he said.

Magistrate John Milburn acknowledged the family had suffered and said it was a tragic incident, but he had to take general deterrence into account when sentencing.

Looby was fined $1500 and no conviction was recorded.