A BOAT driver denied causing a powerboat crash which killed a Merseyside doctor in New Zealand.
Jeffrey William Donaldson, 56, appeared in court over the incident which killed Paul Woods on Boxing Day last year.
The popular 29-year-old died instantly when he was thrown from the boat on a river.
He was on a camping trip with friends including his partner Leanne Toney, 31, and her brother, David.
Mr Woods was travelling in a jet boat along the Matukituki river, in Mt Aspiring national park, on New Zealand’s South Island, when he died.
New Zealand police charged Donaldson in May with operating a vessel in a manner which caused unneces-sary danger and risk.
He is the president of the New Zealand jet boat association and was driving the vessel when it is believed to have hit a gravel bank and flipped over.
Donaldson pleaded not guilty and requested trial by jury.
The hearing is due to start on November 30.
