VANCOUVER

Speedboat driver given 3-year sentence for fatal houseboat crash

The Canadian Press Published Thursday, June 2, 2016 4:35PM PDT

Guilty verdict in fatal Shuswap Lake houseboat cra

A 40-year-old man from Anglemont, B.C., was killed when a speedboat hit the houseboat he was operating on Saturday, July 3, 2010. (CTV)

Text:

KAMLOOPS, B.C. - The driver of a speedboat involved in a fatal houseboat crash on British Columbia's Shuswap Lake has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Fifty-four-year-old Leon Reinbrecht was convicted on one count each of criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm following a trial last year.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sheri Donegan also handed Reinbrecht a five-year ban from operating a vessel after he is released.

Reinbrecht was behind the wheel of a speedboat on July 3, 2010 after a Canada Day fireworks display on Magna Bay.

Court heard he was driving recklessly before crashing into a houseboat piloted by Ken Brown, who was killed while eight others were injured.

Last month, Reinbrecht's lawyer Joe Doyle argued unsuccessfully that the convictions should be overturned because his client was denied his right to a speedy trial.