Now that Linda O’Leary has been found NOT GUILTY of killing two people on Lake Joseph, let’s talk about it a little.

#BREAKING: Linda O'Leary found not guilty in Muskoka boat crash that left 2 dead https://t.co/lXDnsKIJZ4

— CP24 (@CP24) September 14, 2021

First off, congrats to the O’Leary’s on being able to afford a Greenspan Lawyer.  That kind of stuff is key to winning in court.  You need a Lawyer everyone’s afraid of and everyone is afraid of Brian Greenspan.

But let’s chat about the behavior of the O’Leary’s after the accident and we’ll throw in some old-school Muskoka protectionism for fun.

I’ve lived in Muskoka and boated up on Lake Joseph for the last 15 years.  I know the water, can pilot a boat at night, and know the culture and the players involved in the fatal crash to some extent.  I know exactly where this crash happened.  To the immediate right of my kid in the hat.

O’Leary’s boat hit a boat carrying Suzanne Brito and Gary Poltash, who both died in the accident.  The O’Leary’s said they were cruising along (with Linda Driving) and hit another boat, which their lawyer said had no running lights or nav lights.  O’Leary’s lawyer successfully argued that the other boat was stargazing and the O’Leary’s are not responsible for the death of either Ms. Brito or Mr. Poltash as a result.

That’s why Linda O’Leary was cleared and found not guilty yesterday.  Despite first-hand reports saying the boat in question didn’t have navigation lights on, the judge decided, based on all available evidence, that wasn’t the case and placed the blame on the driver of THAT boat.

Good news, because Mr. and Mrs. O’Leary sure didn’t act like they did anything wrong immediately after the horrific accident.

CBC: Linda O’Leary, wife of entrepreneur and media personality Kevin O’Leary, had alcohol on her breath following a fatal crash involving a boat she was driving in cottage country north of Toronto last summer, according to recently unsealed search warrant documents obtained by CBC News.

“Mrs. O’Leary was administered an alcohol screening device test and registered an alert. She was subsequently served a three-day driver’s licence suspension,” Ontario Provincial Police allege in the documents. “Mrs. O’Leary claims to have consumed a drink of vodka following the collision and prior to the breath test.”

According to the documents, “O’Leary could not remember who handed her the drink of vodka following the collision.”

O’Leary’s lawyer Brian Greenspan said his client was not intoxicated at the time of the crash.

“This tragic accident had nothing to do with alcohol,” Greenspan wrote in an email to CBC News on Monday night.

AHHH.  There we go.  Normally people who receive a DUI suspension immediately after a horrific accident aren’t let go with warnings.  The O’Leary’s aren’t normal people. They are part of the Muskoka trap and what happens in Muskoka stays in Muskoka and the O’Leary’s are big swinging dicks in Canada’s billionaire playground.

This exchange with Stephen Offbrite from Muskoka 411 (media co) is a nice little slice of that protectionism:

What stands out to me is this: If I was in a boating accident at night, the human part of me wouldn’t head to Rockycrest Resort for a ‘vodka drink’.  I’d be distraught and rife with panic, trying to make sure everyone was ok because human life matters to me more than anything.  As someone with Power Squadron certification, I know it’s the pilot’s DUTY to help a boat in distress, and it’s illegal to ignore it  ESPECIALLY when you’re involved in the incident.  Nav lights or no nav lights, a pilot sticks around to help.

So pardon me for questioning how fucked it was that the O’Leary’s made a b-line to Rockycrest resort for a mysterious cocktail(s) before submitting to a breathalyzer test.  If O’Leary’s are 100 percent not guilty (which according to yesterday’s court ruling they are) they sure didn’t act like it.

What’s also curious is how others associated with that night refused to co-operate with part of the investigation.

O’Leary was quick to get ahead of the narrative after initially declining to comment because of the “ongoing investigation.”

“Late Saturday night I was a passenger in a boat that had a tragic collision with another craft that had no navigation lights on and then fled the scene of the accident. I am fully cooperating with authorities,” he said in a carefully-crafted statement.

The entrepreneur has claimed his wife was behind the wheel of the boat.

The other boat was not fleeing, sources told the Sun, but racing to shore to get desperately-needed medical assistance for two critically injured passengers.

A Brito family member — who spoke on condition of anonymity — claimed that it was O’Leary who fled the scene of the crash and that his boat was later found docked at a nearby resort.

The distraught relative said the family is also wondering how long after the crash that O’Leary’s wife was given a breathalyzer.

“I can’t speak on it,” O’Leary told the Sun late Tuesday. “Sorry, I don’t think there’s been any release of that information, so I have no comment. Sorry. Thanks.”

Sources said the O’Leary craft was later docked at the Rocky Crest Golf Resort. The general manager refused to comment and directed inquiries to the OPP.

An employee at Hamer Bay Marina employee was equally tight-lipped.

The Muskoka trap.  They protect their own up there and know what side of the bread has the butter and business’s up there go out of their way to keep the money tap flowing because of how much money is in Muksoka.  I get it.

I get the ongoing pain in the ass a liability these businesses don’t want to be a part of when something like this happens, too.  What I don’t get is how anyone can not want to be part of a solution that brings rest and peace to the family members who lost loved ones that night.  What I don’t get is choosing brand protection over doing the right thing at the moment when it really mattered.

The only people who know what really happened that night are the parties involved and as far as we’re concerned, Linda O’Leary is not guilty of anything.  That’s the truth.

Living with what went into her legal innocence is an entirely different story.  The O’Leary’s won but still have to live with what happened that night forever, as does everyone involved and THAT is the real tragedy here.

Dean