Shark Tank Star Kevin O'Leary's 2019 Fatal Boat Crash Fully Explained
A boat crash involving "Shark Tank" judge Kevin O'Leary and his wife, Linda O'Leary, tragically left two people dead in 2019. Here's what happened and the tragedy's aftermath fully explained.
The incident took place on Lake Joseph in Ontario, Canada, the businessman's home country. Kevin and Linda wed back in 1990 and later purchased a property in 1994 alongside the water in the lake-filled area of Muskoka, which The New York Times once dubbed "The Malibu of the North" for the amount of expensive lakeside properties. The 35-acre waterfront estate includes their over 9,000-square-foot "cottage" and their boathouse, which stores their two boats, according to Kevin's 2010 interview with the Winnipeg Free Press. The Canadian entrepreneur told the publication that he, Linda, and their two children — Trevor and Savannah — would reside at the lakeside abode during the summertime while he commuted for work.
One night during the summer of 2019, the O'Leary couple was involved in a fatal boat collision that resulted in charges from the Ontario police and multiple lengthy battles in court.
Kevin O'Leary claimed there was 'zero light'
On August 24, 2019, Kevin and Linda O'Leary's boat and another vessel crashed into each other on the water of Lake Joseph. According to court documents and testimony obtained by CBC News, Linda was navigating their boat back home after having dinner at another residence on the lake. The "Shark Tank" personality testified that his wife was the "designated driver" for the night, but claimed he was unaware if she had consumed alcohol at a luncheon they attended earlier that day or at the dinner party besides one "watered down" cocktail.
The other craft involved in the accident was a 16-seat vessel that held a group of stargazers on the water. In his recounting of the story to the court via Zoom, Kevin insisted that there was "zero light" coming from the boat his wife drove into. "It's like it had a shroud on it or something," he asserted in his statement. "This is just an opinion, but you would have to work very hard to make a boat that size that dark."
As a result of the collision, 64-year-old Gary Poltash was killed, and 48-year-old Suzana Brito was taken to the hospital and sadly died three days later. A total of three other people aboard the boats were injured. Police breathalyzed Linda and reported her blood alcohol level was in the "alert range." Thus began the investigation into who was the party at fault for the tragic accident in the court of law.
Court ruled Linda O'Leary not guilty of 'careless operation'
In the aftermath of the calamity, Linda O'Leary was charged by the Ontario Provincial Police for "careless operation of a vessel" under the rules of the Canada Shipping Act. On the other hand, the driver of the 16-seater at the time of the crash, Richard Ruh, also received a charge for "failing to exhibit a navigation light," according to CBC News. Florida resident Ruh eventually pled no contest to the indictment, refusing to return to Canada for a "lengthy trial" and "revisit ... trauma," his lawyer explained. Kevin O'Leary's wife was found not guilty of wrongdoing in her case in 2021, per TMZ.
Civil lawsuits were filed by both the O'Learys and the family of one of the accident's victims. As reported by CBC News, the entrepreneurial couple sued Ruh and the owner of the boat, Irv Edwards, for a total of over $3 million for Linda's "pain, suffering, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life" and Kevin's "loss of income" from the bad press surrounding the incident. Linda claimed she sustained injuries to her foot that required surgery and left her foot's joints to be "fused and immobile" as well as "psychological trauma."
The parents and sister of the late Suzana Brito filed their own lawsuit against both Kevin and Linda for their loved one's wrongful death, per Us Magazine. As of this writing, no decisions or settlement results from these civil lawsuits have been revealed publicly.