OPERATOR IN FATAL BOAT CRASH FINED FOR NO NAVIGATION LIGHT
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
SEGUIN TOWNSHIP — The driver of a boat in which two people died last month in a collision with another boat on Lake Joe has been fined for not having navigation light.
The other driver involved has been charged with careless careless operation and faces a jail term of 18 months and a $1 million fine.
The provincial police charges announced Tuesday against the two boat operators, who collided Saturday Aug. 24, confirm an original report by celebrity Muskoka cottager Kevin O’Leary that the other boat — with 13 people aboard — did not have its navigation lights on when it collided with the one driven by O’Leary’s wife, Linda, about 11:30 p.m.
OPP media spokesperson Staff Sergeant Carolle Dionne tells MuskokaTODAY.com that Richard Ruh, 57, of Orchard Park, N.Y., received just a fine and will not be required to return to Canada to appear in court later this month when Linda O’Leary is to appear.
Dionne said she did not know the amount of the fine for not having a light on a boat when it is navigating.
And she said she couldn’t say if Ruh was the boat owner or just the operator.
She did, however, say that part of the investigation involved whether alcohol was involved and whether the drivers were impaired.
But no alcohol charges were laid, she said.
And both charges are not criminal charges; they are under the shipping act.
But further charges could be laid as the investigation continues, said Dionne.
Const. Joe Scali, of the Parry Sound OPP detachment, told MuskokaTODAY.com earlier Tuesday that the two parties were at “social functions.”
The O’Leary boat, a small “runabout” had three people in it, and the Ruh boat, a larger “wakeboard” style boat, had 13 people in it, including the driver.
Scali did say the charges show “no signs of foul play,” and thus “nothing to cover up.”
He called the charges “timely,” given the accident happened exactly a month ago today.
A release Tuesday, Sept. 24, from the OPP’s general headquarters in Orillia, said they charged the two vessel operators following an investigation into the collision that claimed two lives and injured three other persons on Lake Joseph at the northwest end of the Muskoka Lakes.
Police say that after completing a “thorough investigation” under the direction of Det. Insp. Martin Graham, the OPP charged Linda O’Leary, aged 56, of Toronto, with Careless Operation of a Vessel, contrary to section 1007 of the Canada Shipping Act, Small Vessel Regulations.
She is to appear in Ontario Provincial Offences Court in Parry Sound on Oct. 29.
However, CBC reported it was told by Linda O’Leary’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan, that neither she nor he will appear in court that date. He said she is still recovering from a foot injury sustained in the accident.
Greenspan says the “tragic” accident involved and “unlit” boat.
Ruh, aged 57, of Orchard Park, New York (near Buffalo) was charged with
Failing to Exhibit Navigation Light while Underway contrary to section 23 of the Canada Shipping Act, Collision Regulations.
Police say that as the Canada Shipping Act is a federal responsibility, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) will be managing the ensuing court processes.
The accident at about 11:30 p.m. on Lake Joe, close to the O’Learys’ cottage near Echo Island located by the Rocky Crest golf course near MacTier, said Scali.
Boat passenger Kevin O’Leary is a celebrity businessperson on the Shark Tank and a former federal Conservative leadership contender.
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