A 28-year-old Whitchurch-Stouffville man is facing impaired boating charges after a passenger died in the Otonabee River near Peterborough on Tuesday afternoon.
Peterborough County OPP responded to reports of a man falling from a boat at approximately 2:30 p.m. Witnesses told police the victim was not wearing a life jacket when he entered the water and disappeared. The three remaining occupants were safely brought to shore while emergency crews launched a search.
Police allege the boat’s occupants had been drinking alcohol, and the operator was arrested after providing a breath sample. He has been charged with operation causing death and impaired operation with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding the legal limit.
The OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit later recovered the body of the 39-year-old Oshawa man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.