Kevin O'Leary's wife charged in fatal Ontario boat crash

O'Leary's lawyer calls charge 'inappropriate' Linda O'Leary's lawyer said that his client was an "experienced boater" who collided with an unlit watercraft.

TORONTO -- Linda O’Leary, wife of television personality Kevin O’Leary, has been charged in connection with a fatal boat crash in August.

She was charged with “careless operation of a vessel” under the small vessel regulations of the Canada Shipping Act, after a boat crash in Ontario that killed two people and injured three others.

The driver of the other boat, Richard Ruh of Orchard Park, N.Y., was charged with “failing to exhibit navigation light while underway,” according to a news release from Ontario Provincial Police.

Susanne Brito of Uxbridge Ont., and Gary Poltash of Florida, both died as a result of the crash that occurred around 11:30 p.m. on Lake Joseph, near Emerald Island in Seguin Township on Aug. 24.

Brito was a mother of three young children, and Poltash was a father-of-two.

Linda O'Leary's lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said what happened was "a terrible tragedy."

"We find it regrettable that the OPP has chosen to charged Mrs. O'Leary under the shipping regulations in circumstances where the person has always been a cautious, and certainly experienced boater, came in a collision with an unlit craft on a dark and moonless night on Lake Joseph," he said.

The maximum penalty for careless operation of a vessel is 18 months imprisonment and a $1 million dollar fine.

Linda O’Leary is due to appear in a Parry Sound, Ont. court on Oct. 29.

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- with files from the Canadian Press