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Speedboat driver out of jail as he appeals conviction in fatal boat crash

Leon Reinbrecht was granted bail in the B.C. Court of Appeal following a hearing in Vancouver on Friday.
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Ken Brown

By Tim Petruk, Kamloops This Week

B.C.’s highest court has granted bail to the man who in 2010 drove his speedboat into a houseboat while out for a joyride on Shuswap Lake, leaving one person dead and a number of others injured.

Leon Reinbrecht was granted bail in the B.C. Court of Appeal following a hearing in Vancouver on Friday. He has been in custody since June 2, when a B.C. Supreme Court judge sentenced him to spend three years behind bars in a federal prison.

The 54-year-old was convicted on one count each of criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm following a trial last year. His lawyers filed an appeal of the conviction four days after he was sentenced.

“It’s very frustrating that the legal system is like this,” said Lorraine Tomalty, a sister of Ken Brown, the houseboat pilot who died in the collision.

“It’s for the guilty. And the poor people who were on the houseboat — they’re still suffering.”

Tomalty said the fact Reinbrecht is appealing his conviction, and the fact he will soon be out of custody pending that appeal, flies in the face of defence claims he feels remorse for his actions.

“If he would have just owned up to it six years ago, this would be over,” she said. “He just can’t take responsibility for what he’s done. How long can somebody tie up the system? It’s ridiculous.”

Reinbrecht was behind the wheel of a recklessly driven speedboat on the night of July 3, 2010, following a post-Canada Day fireworks display on Magna Bay.

The lake was busy and dark, court heard, and witnesses said they saw Reinbrecht’s boat pulling donuts and U-turns while speeding close to shore.

Brown was at the helm of his houseboat when Reinbrecht’s speedboat collided with it nearly head-on. Brown died at the scene and other people on both boats suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Tomalty said she will continue to speak out for as long as Reinbrecht fights his conviction.

“We don’t want him to get away with it,” she said.

A date for Reinbrecht’s appeal has not yet been set.