Ontario boat operator faces impaired charges after drowning near Peterborough

A boat operator faces impaired operation charges after the body of a man was recovered from the Otonabee River near Peterborough, Ont., on Tuesday evening.

Peterborough County OPP say on Tuesday afternoon, emergency crews responded to a call about an person who had fallen off a boat and did not resurface in the river near the Bensfort Bridge, just south of the city in Otonabee-South Monaghan Township.

“The caller advised that they had been travelling east on the river when another boat went by at which point one of the four individuals on the boat fell into the water,” OPP said. “The caller advised that the missing person was not wearing a life-jacket.”

Police attended and located the three remaining individuals near the shoreline. Investigators say it was determined they had been consuming alcohol.

An officer demanded that the operator of the vessel provide a breath sample into an approved screening device. The operator complied and, as a result, was arrested and taken to the OPP detachment for further testing.

Township firefighters also deployed their vessel to assist in the search for the missing individual.

The OPP’s underwater search and recovery unit was called to the area. Around 9 p.m. that evening, divers recovered the body of a 39-year-old man from Oshawa, Ont.

A 28-year-old from Whitchurch-Stouville, Ont., was arrested and charged with operation causing death and operation while impaired with a blood-alcohol concentration 80-plus.

OPP say the accused was held in custody for a court appearance in Peterborough.

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