Nighttime boating `more hazardous'

The police officer who drove one of two boats used to re-enact a fatal crash in Ontario cottage country told the trial of Linda O'Leary Friday that operating a boat at night is “much more hazardous” than in the daytime.

Const. David Hogue, a marine operator with the Ontario Provincial Police, was driving an OPP harbour craft, which was meant to take the place of the speedboat Linda O'Leary was driving on the night of Aug. 24, 2019. She was charged with careless operation of a vessel after colliding with a larger boat on Lake Joseph in a crash that killed two people.

Her husband, celebrity investor and reality TV star Kevin O'Leary, and a family friend were on board the speedboat the night of the crash, but neither was seriously injured.

Investigators were out on Lake Joseph on the night of Sept. 5, 2019 to re-enact the crash.

They were in two boats. One was a 16-seater, a Super Air Nautique G23, and the other was an OPP harbour craft, taking the place of the O'Leary speedboat.

The exercises were conducted in late evening, in the dark, and the police were in constant communication with one another, court heard.

Still, it was a nerve-racking operation.

The police carried out several simulations, with the OPP craft, driven by Hogue, passing near the Nautique, which had its lights turned off.

“It was shocking how close we got prior to actually seeing (the other boat)," Hogue told court on Friday.

Hogue said the mood on the boat was “becoming more and more concerned as we approached the vessel,” nervous, even though there was communication.

The trial, in part, hinges on whether or not the boat Linda O'Leary hit had its lights on at the time of the crash. The operator of that boat, Richard Ruh, was charged for not having the boats lights on at night. He pleaded guilty and paid a fine, but told the court he had done so only to save on legal fees. He maintains his lights were on.

O'Leary is charged with careless operation of a vessel under the Canada Shipping Act.

She faces a fine but no jail time.

Hogue said that since there is no posted speed limit on Lake Joseph, it is up to the operator to conduct the vessel in a safe manner.

Brian Greenspan, O'Leary's lawyer, said the OPP runs had happened at a variety of speeds, including as slow as five miles per hour, a run that Hogue said he did not recall.

Court has heard previously that police estimated that O'Leary's boat was travelling between 20 and 30 miles per hour at the time of the crash.

“I can't recall,” Hogue responded.

The trial continues Monday.