The son of singer Kirsty MacColl has spoken about the traumatic flashbacks he still experiences 25 years after her death in a speedboat accident in Mexico. Louis Lillywhite was 14 when his mother died after being struck by a boat’s propeller while scuba diving on 18 December 2000. She was 41.
Louis and his brother Jamie, then 15, were in the water with their mother when the speedboat entered a protected marine area and ploughed into them. Jamie suffered minor injuries, but Kirsty died instantly. Louis, now 39, said: 'It was such a traumatic thing... I still have flashbacks. It was and is so graphic.'
Louis struggled with swimming and boats for years but has found therapy helpful. He said: 'I really struggled with swimming or going on boats or diving but I have found therapy very useful for that. I have even been snorkelling again and driven a boat.' He added that his mother loved the sea and would have been 'gutted' if he missed out.
Louis's father, record producer Steve Lillywhite, recalled receiving the news from Kirsty's boyfriend James Knight. He said the boys were in shock when he reached them in Mexico. Walking into their family home in Ealing, with the Christmas tree still up and presents underneath, made the tragedy hit home.
