‘It’s still coming’: O’Leary boat hit stargazers seconds after lights appeared on Muskoka lake, doctor testifies
Fighting back tears, a family physician who was on a boat full of stargazers described the catastrophic crash on Lake Joseph in Muskoka almost two years ago that took the lives of two passengers.
Richard Ruh was testifying virtually Tuesday, from a U.S. attorney's office, at the Parry Sound, Ont., trial of Linda O'Leary, who has pleaded not guilty to careless operation of a vessel under the Canada Shipping Act, which is a non-criminal offence.
I was at the helm and I was looking up, and for some reason, maybe noise, I looked ahead through the windshield and saw boat lights approaching at speed," Ruh recounted in a halting manner.
I can remember thinking to myself... there is a boat coming near. Approximately five seconds from when I noticed the lights, was when we were struck in the bow," he continued.
Ruh said he didn't see the occupants of the boat that hit the one he was in, a 24-foot Super Air Nautique that had stopped in the middle of the lake so its 12 occupants could take in the night sky.
But Ruh told court he heard male and female voices, though he couldn't recall who was said. O'Leary had been driving the other boat and her husband, TV personality and business owner, Kevin O'Leary, was also aboard.
Once he had his wits about me," Ruh testified he asked or looked around the boat to see if anyone had fallen overboard, then pulled out his phone, turned on the flashlight on my phone and scanned the area.
At the point of impact at the bow, Ruh described seeing Gary Poltash, 64, of Florida, who had suffered a fatal skull fracture. Suzanna Brito, 48, from Uxbridge, Ont., also appeared grossly injured" and died a few days later in hospital. He also saw another injured passenger.
Ruh, an experienced boater, estimated the O'Leary boat was travelling between 20 and 22 miles an hour, based on the time he saw its lights and impact and the speed with which a boat has to be to get there that fast."
Prosecutor Samir Adam asked Ruh what was going through his mind when he saw the boat approaching.
Ruh collected his thoughts before answering.
A, it's a boat. B, it's still coming. And C, holy s---."
Prior to the collision, the Nautique's owner, Irv Edwards, had asked Ruh to take over the helm of his new luxury watercraft. Edwards, a fellow doctor, was his friend and neighbour and owned the cottage Ruh leases. He was the trial's first witness.
Ruh, like Edwards, insists the Nautique's navigational lights were on that Aug. 24, 2019 evening during their night cruise. The collision happened in darkness, around 11:30 p.m.
Last year, Ruh was convicted of failing to exhibit a navigation light while underway and was sentenced to a set fine of $150.
Adam asked him about the ticket."
Ruh said he after spending $40,000 on lawyer fees to vigorously" defence what I knew to be true myself," he paid the $125 fine, but did not admit innocence or guilt.
Ruh said he is a defendant in six ongoing lawsuits.
The trial continues Tuesday afternoon.
Betsy Powell is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and courts for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @powellbetsy