Charges laid in boat crash that left couple dead

CTV Barrie: Charges in boating death An Oro-Medonte man is facing criminal charges in connection with a boat crash that left a senior couple dead.

An Oro-Medonte man is facing several charges related to the deaths of a senior couple in a boat collision on an Almaguin Highlands lake last month.

Almaguin Highlands OPP say the 46-year-old man was negligent when his red-and-black ski boat collided with a small paddle boat being operated by Bozena Mercik, 58 and her husband Zdzislaw Mercik, 80, on Bartlett Lake June 30.

The man pulled Bozena Mercik from the water and brought her to shore, where she was rushed to hospital by paramedics. She died on the way. Her husband’s body was recovered from the lake days later.

The man has now been charged two counts of causing death by criminal negligence, two counts of dangerous operation of a vessel causing death, careless operation, and operating a pleasure craft without prescribed competency.

He was arrested today, charged, and released with an August 14 court date in Sundridge.