Canadian businessman and TV star Kevin O’Leary has opened up about a fatal August 2019 Ontario boat crash in which his wife, Linda, was charged, along with another individual.
“I feel for the victims of this horrific accident, including my family, too. My wife, this really affects her,” O’Leary said in an interview with 24-hour Toronto news channel CP24 Tuesday.
“I have to watch this every day, and I feel horribly for the families that lost loved ones.”
The crash, which occurred at about 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 24 in Seguin, Ont., killed Gary Poltash, 64, from Florida, and Suzana Brito, 48, from Uxbridge, Ont.
Three others, including Linda O’Leary, were injured as a result of the crash.
In connection to the collision, Linda O’Leary was charged with careless operation of a vessel, while the other boat’s operator, Richard Ruh, was charged with failure to exhibit a navigation light.
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“What we really need here is to get the forensic evidence completely disclosed to all the families, including mine. We all want this out,” O’Leary said in the CP24 interview.
“All of the speculation and tabloids and all that stuff, that’s unfortunate.”
Search warrant documents that Global News obtained in November show that Linda O’Leary had alcohol on her breath the night her boat fatally crashed with another vessel on Ontario’s Lake Joseph.
According to the documents, Linda O’Leary claimed that she “consumed a drink of vodka following the collision and prior to the breath test.”
In a statement emailed to Global News in November, Brian Greenspan, Linda O’Leary’s lawyer, said the accident had “nothing to do with alcohol.”
“Linda O’Leary was not impaired; she is a highly experienced boater who was proceeding cautiously with due care and attention. She collided with a totally unlit boat on a moonless night which was invisible to any prudent operator,” Greenspan said in the statement.
“No one could have avoided the collision.”
Brito’s relatives are also suing the O’Learys for wrongful death and are seeking $2 million in damages. The Brito family is also seeking damages from Ruh, the driver of the second boat, and Edwards, the owner of the vessel.
None of the allegations have been proven or tested in court.
Global News reached out to Kevin O’Leary’s office for further comment but didn’t receive a response by time of publication.
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