Shark Tank judge Kevin O’Leary and his wife Linda O’Leary were seen in Miami Beach on Jan. 2, just six months after they were involved in a fatal boat accident in Canada. The crash left two people dead, as the family of one of the victims filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Linda, who was driving the boat at the time, was charged with careless operation of a vessel.
On Wednesday, The Daily Mail published videos and photos of the O’Learys enjoying the New Year in Miami Beach and joking with their friends. They also hung out at a nearby tiki bar.
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Linda was spotted drinking wine in the footage and needed a KneeRover medical scooter to get around. It is not clear if this was due to a recent injury or one sustained during the boating accident.
Back on Aug. 24, the O’Learys were involved in a boat accident on Lake Joseph in Ontario. Their luxury boat hit another vessel. Gary Poltash, 64, of Florida and Susanne Brito, 48, of Ontario were killed in the other boat and killed in the crash.
Linda was charged with careless operation of a vessel after authorities found she was driving their boat at an unsafe 17 mph speed. Richard Ruh, who drove the other vessel, was charged with failure to exhibit a navigation light. Linda originally faced a maximum of 18 months in prison and a $1 million fine, but she has avoided jail time and will face a $10,000 fine.
In November, Brito’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, accusing the Olerys of being “incapable of safely operating their boat because their judgment was impaired by alcohol, drugs or fatigue.” A few weeks later, CBC News obtained documents showing that Linda took an alcohol screening test, but the blood-alcohol level was not revealed.
“Mrs. O’Leary was administered an alcohol screening device test and registered an alert. She was subsequently served a three-day driver’s licence suspension,” the Ontario Provincial Police documents state. “Mrs. O’Leary claims to have consumed a drink of vodka following the collision and prior to the breath test.”
The documents state that police obtained “corroborating evidence of the operator of the vessel and the possibility that Linda O’Leary was consuming alcohol following the collision.”
Linda’s lawyer Brian Greenspan insisted his client was not intoxicated at the time of the crash.
“This tragic accident had nothing to do with alcohol,” Greenspan wrote in a statement. “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. No one could have avoided the collision.”
Despite the controversy, O’Leary appeared on Shark Tank Season 11, which aired last fall.
Photo credit: Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
