Comments made by Kevin O’Leary are under scrutiny after he was involved in a fatal boat crash on Lake Joseph in Ontario over the weekend that left two people dead. The Canadian millionaire and Shark Tank star relayed information that contradicted what police have said.
O’Leary, his wife Linda and an unnamed third person were on a boat Saturday night around 11:30 p.m. when it reportedly crashed into a larger, 13-person boat, killing two on that vessel. Gary Poltash, a 64-year-old father of two from Florida, died on the scene. Susanne Brito, a 48-year-old mother of three from Uxbridge, Ontario, was seriously injured and died in the hospital on Tuesday. She was reportedly kept alive so that her organs could be donated.
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After TMZ reported on the incident Tuesday, O’Leary issued a statement to the news outlet: “On Saturday night, I was a passenger in a boat that was involved in a tragic collision with another watercraft that had no navigation lights on and then fled the scene.”
This is Kevin O’Leary’s Chappaquiddick moment: For the rest of his life he’ll have to explain how his boat killed two people, and why his version of events is dishonest. https://t.co/mvTmTnmYdp
— Amir Attaran (@profamirattaran) August 29, 2019
At a minimum, it’s now clear that Kevin O’Leary spun/misrepresented the truth of the accident in his statement. https://t.co/WVhAm5BPXo
— Jesse Brown (@JesseBrown) August 29, 2019
Does anyone believe that Kevin O’Leary was in a boat and was NOT driving?
Also… he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would let his wife drive his boat – ever – let alone at 11:30 PM.
— Bryan Leblanc (@bryan_leblanc) August 29, 2019
However, O’Leary’s wording, suggesting that the other boat “fled the scene” is not accurate. West Parry Sound OPP Constable Joe Scali said that both boats left the scene of the crash to contact “emergency services,” Global News reports.
After both boats contacted emergency services, Scali said both were transported to the West Parry Sound OPP detachment for inspection.
Also under scrutiny is O’Leary’s statement that the larger boat didn’t have proper navigation lights. An OPP spokesperson said they “are not commenting on specifics in relation to equipment, direction, and such in order to protect the integrity of the investigation.”
Sources connected to the larger boat told TMZ that navigation lights on the larger boat were on at the time of the crash.
A representative for O’Leary said that Linda was driving the boat at the time of the collision and that she passed a sobriety test given to her by police. According to the Toronto Sun, a family member of one of the victims questioned how much time had passed between the collision and her impairment test.
In his official statement, O’Leary said he is fully cooperating with authorities. Police have not filed any charges in the case.
