Shark Tank Season 11 premiered on ABC Sunday, marking judge Kevin O’Leary‘s first new episode since the fatal boat accident he and his wife, Linda O’Leary, were involved in. O’Leary’s wife has been charged with careless operation of a vessel in connection with the boat accident in August in Ontario, Canada that left two passengers of another boat dead. Before and during the broadcast, a handful of viewers made comments about the accident.
Kevin were you driving the boat?
— Twindubs (@Twindubs) September 30, 2019
Back in August, O’Leary’s boat crashed into another boat, killing two passengers. Linda was driving the boat, and Ontario prosecutors charged her in the case. Police said they obtained videos showing Linda driving at 17 mph, an unsafe speed for driving a boat on the lake at night.
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We care about our local lakes as well. Hey Mr I wasn’t driving the boat. Yes, speeding & intoxication in boats does lend to climate change..for families who loose their loved ones especially. PS, please don’t be a puss and block my siblings. ——Scrubdaddy.
— Mr.Black007 (@MrBlack0071) September 29, 2019
Sir have you discovered your soul yet? pic.twitter.com/jHFQnQZvjT
— Joe Willis (@NoMamesDotCom) September 30, 2019
Kevin, I’ll be frank with you. I am not watching.
— Sam Bell (@EPA1257) September 30, 2019
The victims of the crash were Gary Poltash, 64, of Florida, and Susane Brito, 48, of Ontario. Three other people were injured. The driver of the other boat, Richard Ruh, was also charged.
Ontario Provincial Police’s media relations coordinator, Carolle Dionne, later told The Associated Press that Linda is facing a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison or a $1 million fine.
“Now that the authorities have concluded their thorough investigation, I have no further comment other than to say that our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of those who lost loved ones in this awful tragedy. Our hearts go out to them,” O’Leary’s agent said in a statement after his wife was charged.
How about a seminar on driving a boat?
— John McNamara (@johnemcnamara) September 30, 2019
In his initial statement after the crash, O’Leary insisted he was the passenger of the boat involved in a “tragic collision” with another boat that “had no navigation lights on and then fled the scene.” O’Leary also offered his condolences to the victims’ families.
O’Leary hired attorney Brian Greenspan, who believes Linda’s maximum punishment should be a $10,000 fine.
“She has always been a cautious and experienced boater who came into collision with an unlit craft on a dark and moonless night. The other boat was sitting in a dark spot on a lake, no cottage lights nearby, no moon,” Greenspan told The Los Angeles Times.
New episodes of Shark Tank air at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
Photo credit: ABC
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