A 55-year-old North Kawartha man is facing multiple charges after a passenger on his boat was injured following a single-vessel collision late Saturday afternoon (July 8) on Wollaston Lake south of Coe Hill.
Shortly before 5 p.m., officers with the Bancroft OPP responded to a report of the collision, in which the passenger was ejected from the boat.
An investigation resulted in the driver of the boat being arrested and charged with multiple offences.
Michael Hyde, 55, of North Kawartha Township, has been charged under the Canada Shipping Act with operating a vessel in an unsafe manner, operating an pleasure craft that is not licensed, Failure to have proof of competency on board a pleasure craft, two counts of operating a pleasure craft without a personal flotation device or lifejacket of appropriate size for each person on board, and operating a vessel with safety equipment not readily accessible and available for immediate use.
In addition, the accused man has been charged under the Criminal Code with operation while impaired causing bodily harm and operation while impaired with blood alcohol concentration (80 plus).
Hyde was released from custody and is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Bancroft on August 8.
