A friend who saw her friend tragically died on FaceTime in the River Thames “has been through hell,” said the man’s heartbroken family.
James East, 25, was led to their taxi by his girlfriend Arabella Ashfield when the horrific accident happened.
The couple had been in Kingston, London, to celebrate Miss Ashfield’s sister’s 18th birthday. But the evening took a devastating turn when Mr. East, who had sat down on a walled section of a bridge, fell into the river.
Mr East, who was in the water for nearly an hour, had in fact died before entering the water after suffering a head injury.
His heartbroken sister Abigail Bladen spoke today about Miss Ashfield’s ‘hell’ as she watched her boyfriend plunge to his death.
She said: ‘His poor friend, Arabella, was actually on Facetime with him trying to send him to their taxi, and she’s now been through hell watching that happen.
Arabella Ashfield watched in horror on Facetime as her boyfriend James East (pictured together) fell into the River Thames to his death
Ms Ashfield had tried to lead her boyfriend to their taxi while they were out together in Kingston, London, to celebrate her sister’s birthday. Pictured: Kingston Bridge over the Thames.
“He was in the water for 50 minutes and then they found him and took him to the hospital where they worked on him for three hours to save him.
“When he did the autopsy, he was found dead before going into the water because of his head injury, but they didn’t know that.
‘Because he went into the Thames, they thought he had drowned. They were working on him and thought he had drowned when it was his head. They weren’t allowed to know.’
Mr East’s tragic death comes just six weeks after landing a dream job as a business development executive at Trybe in London.
He had fallen in love with the city after his studies at the London School of Economics.
Mr East, 25, had tried to sit on a walled section of a bridge before falling into the river
While taking a break from the party, Mr. James tried to sit on the wall – which was about waist height – but misjudged his seat before falling backwards and hitting his head.
His mother Sara Ivey received the devastating news when police officers knocked on the door in the middle of the night to say her son was in hospital.
Ms Bladen added: ‘We are just devastated. It’s terrible, he’s still so young and had so much to look forward to.
“Honestly, he’s still not registered with us. It was just appalling for my mum, Kingston Police had to call South Wales Police who then had to come here at 4:50am and knock on the door.
“It was a three and a half hour drive there, which was terrible for my mother and our stepfather. They asked them to stop halfway through to say they could no longer work on him and there was nothing they could do.
“It’s horrible that they’re just standing on the side of the highway and getting that news. They tried to get a police escort, but they couldn’t, so they had to drive the rest of the way.’
Doctors fought in hospital for three hours but Mr East died tragically from head injuries.
Mr East, who was in the water for nearly an hour, had in fact died before entering the water after suffering a head injury
The avid sportsman, who had previously had trials to play for Leicester City, was set to run the London Marathon the week after his death.
His body was returned home to Swansea and he was laid to rest on 13 October.
Ms Bladen said: ‘Six weeks before he died, he got a job that he absolutely loved. He did very well and they loved him.
“He absolutely loved London and he always joked that he only came home to see his niece, but we’re a close-knit family and he’s a real homebody.
“If you didn’t know James very well you would think he was very quiet and articulate, but he had a very dry sense of humor and was the life and soul of the party.
“It was a testament to how popular he was because of the number of people who came to his funeral. He had so many friends. His boss from Trybe traveled down and he only knew him for six weeks.
“He told us he knew he was special from the moment he interviewed him. They closed the office two days after they found out.
‘He will certainly be best remembered for his cheeky smile – that has taken him away with everything! He meant different things to everyone.
“With his friends he was life and soul, but for us he was just perfect, he was really sweet and loved his niece down to the last detail.”
A fundraiser has raised more than £2,300 to support his family.