The wife of Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary was charged with “careless operation of a vessel.” Linda O’Leary was the driver in a fatal crash on a lake in Ontario. The accident happened last month in West Parry Sound. Two people in the boat that O’Leary’s Cobalt collided with died as a result of the crash.
“Both boats left the scene and called emergency services,” Constable Joe Scali, media officer for the West Parry Sound’s Ontario Provincial Police, told Trade Only Today at the time. When asked about navigation lights on each boat, Scali would not comment.
Gary Poltash, 64, from Belleair Beach, Fla., was pronounced dead immediately following the crash; Susanne Brito, 48, of Uxbridge, Ontario, was taken to a hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Ontario Provincial Police Staff Sgt. Carolle Dionne told CNN yesterday that the maximum penalty for the regulatory charge is 18 months in prison or a $1 million fine. Police charged the other boat’s driver for “failing to exhibit a navigation light while underway.”
Kevin O’Leary said in a statement: “Now that the authorities have concluded their thorough investigation, I have no further comment other than to say that our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of those who lost loved ones in this awful tragedy. Our hearts go out to them.”
O’Leary’s agent, Jay Sures, told CNN that Linda O’Leary was given a DUI test, which she reportedly passed.
Linda O’Leary is expected to appear in court Oct. 29. O’Leary’s attorney, Brian Greenspan, told CNN that he plans to send a representative to court. “It’s our position that Mrs. O’Leary, who is a cautious and experienced boater, came into contact with a boat that simply couldn’t be seen.”
The attorney said the other boat was operating without navigation lights on a moonless evening. Multiple lawsuits are expected.
