'That boat was invisible,' Kevin O'Leary testifies other boat in fatal crash didn't have lights on
Kevin O'Leary told a Parry Sound, Ont., court on Wednesday via Zoom from Los Angeles that the boat they hit in 2019 "was invisible."
The businessman and reality TV star's wife, Linda O'Leary, has pleaded not guilty to one count of careless boating after a two-vessel crash on Lake Joseph in 2019 that claimed the lives of Gary Poltash and Suzana Brito.
As the defence's first witness, Kevin O'Leary testified his wife was always at the helm, saying "she's a very good marine boater."
He said he was always by her side, keeping a watchful eye.
"I'm always looking forward," he told the court. "At night, I want to be watching forward, and I was that night as well."
O'Leary said the other boat, owned by Dr. Irv Edwards and captained by Dr. Richard Ruh, was "completely pitch black" before the collision.
Edwards and Ruh had testified the lights were on at the time of the collision.
Both men are being sued in civil court.
"There was no light," O'Leary said, adding he was surprised to see how big the boat was when the lights were turned on after the crash.
"It lit up like a Christmas tree. It was huge," he testified.
The questioning also touched on whether Linda O'Leary had consumed any alcohol during a dinner party before the collision.
Her husband said he didn't recall her having had a drink, though there were several hours when they weren't together.
He added that it would have likely been watered down if she did have a drink because she was driving.
"She would turn off any noise or music and just boat. Keeping very alert to what was around us," Kevin O'Leary told the court of his wife's boating habits.
On Tuesday, defence lawyer Brian Greenspan told the court they had yet to hear any basis as to why his client was responsible for the deadly crash.
Closing submissions are scheduled for Thursday, with the judge's decision expected to take several weeks.
With files from The Canadian Press and CTV's Mike Arsalides
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
What happens after we die? Most Canadians say an afterlife does exist, survey shows
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.