‘Shark Tank:’ Kevin O’Leary’s Fatal Boat Crash: What Happened?
Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary was involved in a fatal boat crash, and here’s what happened.
The reality tv Shark Tank stars usually spend their time swimming in the perilous waters of high-dollar investment and entrepreneurship. But Kevin O’Leary found himself deep in a different kind of water, and it turned fatal. Here’s what happened to Kevin and his wife Linda O’Leary during the fateful 2019 incident.
‘Zero Light’ Led To Fatal Boat Crash
On August 24, 2019, Kevin O’Leary and his wife Linda were in a boat that crashed into another vessel. The accident occurred on Lake Joseph in Ontario, Canada. Known as “The Malibu of the North,” Lake Joseph is the playground of the rich and famous and their expansive lakefront homes. In 1994, Kevin and Linda purchased a property on the lake. It’s a 35-acre estate with a 9,000-square-foot “cottage” and boathouse with two boats.
When they embarked on a boat ride on August 24, 2019, neither Kevin nor Linda had any idea how the evening would end. The wealthy couple was navigating their way back across the lake after dining with friends at a nearby residence. Linda was at the helm, having been designated the sober driver of the evening. In court proceedings, Kevin testified that Linda was the designated driver. But the Canadian entrepreneur conceded that he was unsure as to whether or not she had consumed alcohol before taking the wheel.
When Kevin later recounted the story, he said that there was “zero light” coming from the boat that Linda crashed into. That boat contained 64-year-old Gary Poltash, 48-year-old Suzana Brito, and three other people. Gary died in the crash, while Suzana succumbed to her injuries days later in the hospital. The other three people, including the driver of the other boat, were injured but did not die.
Kevin O’Leary’s Wife Not Guilty Of ‘Careless Operation’ In Boat Crash
Police were involved after the crash, and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary and his wife Linda were put under the microscope to see who was at fault.
Police used a breathalyzer on Linda, and discovered that her blood alcohol was in the “alert range.” In the initial aftermath, Ontario Provincial Police charged Linda with “careless operation” which led to the accident. The driver of the other vessel, Richard Ruh, was charged with “failing to exhibit a navigation light.” Richard pled no contest to the indictment out of a desire to not have to return to Ontario to “relive” the trauma.
For her part, police determined Linda O’Leary was not guilty of wrongdoing. Police never charged Kevin O’Leary. Both the O’Learys and family members of the other victims filed civil lawsuits against one another. However, the courts have made no determination in either case, as of now.
Do you think Kevin O’Leary’s wife Linda was guilty of her part in the accident? And who do you think should win in the civil suits between the parties? Let us know in the comments. And catch Shark Tank on ABC Friday evenings at 8PM EST.
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Lake Joseph is very dark at night. There are few lights on shore and it is a big lake. Driving a boat across that Lake without lights is foolharty and criminal. It is also rather stupid and the result was not a surprise. A dark boat with no lights will come up on a rather speedy boat quickly and there is no way to avoid it.
I’m sure the courts will come to the same conclusion. Every boat I’ve ever been on around Lake Muskoka has had lights. Even boats that have been restored/refurbished and are over 100 years old know that running lights are an essential part fo the vessel.
I am a registered emergency room nurse. And we do blood alcohol levels on almost everybody now days. I thought that it was funny that they said on the breathalyzer it was Alert Range for Linda Oleary. I guess that is what they say if you are rich and famous. Because in California the BAC of 0.08% or higher is considered legally drunk. And you should not be driving a car or boat. So, I would have to guess that she was legally drunk, but they didn’t want to word it that way and said Alert Range? Since there is really no such thing as Alert Range!
Light or no Light; If you are driving at night on a lake or body of water, you should always reduce speed tremendously and drive cautiously.
Unlike cars, many boats have no lights. If O’Leary’s boat had light, had they been driving at a safe speed; they would
have seen the other vehicle and not ran into it. They are liable for the accident and could have avoided the catastrophe.
@ Diane Hill: Not true! All boats in navigable water MUST display lights at night AND are required to under maritime law, whether dinghy, canoe, or row boat. Consider a car analogy: Driving without your lights on. That’s very dangerous and can lead to a serious accident. The speed of the O’Leary’s boat is not mentioned, though that may have been a contributing factor. The question would be whether it was excessive. Regardless, underway in a boat, whatever kind, at night without lights is foolhardy and dangerous, just as it is in any other vehicle, whether it be a car or airplane. Another consideration, cars have headlights, but boats don’t. In a car, you have half a chance to see a car without its headlights on. That’s not the case on a boat. A boat without lights is invisible no matter how fast you are going until it’s too late to react.
Tragic. I am an avid boater. Yes, the O Leary’s are 100 percent labial for their actions. Operating a vessel under the influence of Alcohol or drugs is a crime just like a if you were driving a vehicle. If they were all impaired, they had the choice to leave the boat at the restaurant dock and call Euber or a friend. As soon as they left the dock impaired, they broke the LAW. Doesn’t matter if the other boat didn’t have a light on it. They were not in control of the vessel probably traveling at high rate of speed. Sorry Mr. wonderful you lose.
labial? oleary has labia?
Ha! My very same thoughts. Freudian slip?
While there are as they say two sides to each story, there is many times a third.
There is no mention of speed in the matter.
If O’Leary was traveling at a cautious rate, then that in itself is a factor which is not mentioned.
To operate a vessel after darkness without lights is in and of itself a significant wrong and the root cause of the accident.
I would have shown lighting forward into the path direction.
One can not count on an absolutely clear path even in known waters.
Not to do that is itself a contributing factor but not necessarily the end answer.
If it were I, I would side on the O’Learies to be not at fault even though there is some contribution to the negligence, the predominance is that of the vessel and operator not exhibiting Running Lights after Sunset.
No lights is a bad choice. I sincerely believe to many people are not held responsible for bad choices..
O’Leary should not be held responsible.
YOU CAN’T SEE EVEN IF THERE WERE LIGHTS, NO WAY CAN YOU SEE WITH THEM,NO LIGHTS IS A LOSER. NO WAY EVEN WITH THEM.
Oleary destroyed the businesses he boasted about. no doubt he and his wife were drunk off there a**es and ran into the other boat. losers
The Motorboat Act of April 25,1940 (AS AMENDED TO JUNE 5,1959. an act to amend laws for preventing collisions of vessels, to regulate equipment of certain motorboats on the navigable waters of the United States and for other purposes.
(Lights) Every motorboat in all weathers from sunset to sun rise shall carry and exhibit the following lights when under way, and during such time no other lights which may be mistaken for those prescribed shall be exhibited: (FIRST) a bright white light in the fore part of the vessel as near the stem as practicable, so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of twenty points of the compass so fixed as to throw the light ten points on each side of the vessel; namely, from right ahead to two points abaft the beam on either side. On the starboard side a green light shows an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of ten points of the compass. (SECOND) a bright white light aft to show all around the horizon and higher than the white light forward. (THIRD) on the starboard side a green light so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of ten points of the compass so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to two points abaft the beam on port side.
All of the above regulations can be found in a book entitled “PILOTING SEAMANSHIP and SMALL BOAT HANDELING” By Charles F. Chapman
In my opinion, it is imperative that anyone with a machine operated boat or sail study this BIBLE before taking to the water. And dont forget your life vest!!