**Tragic Boating Accident Leaves Eight Dead in Lake Tahoe**
Last Saturday, a family of four in Northern California tragically lost their lives in a boating accident while celebrating a birthday at Lake Tahoe, a popular tourist spot in California. The overturned boat incident resulted in a total of eight fatalities and two injuries.
The small boat, carrying ten people, capsized during a sudden and severe thunderstorm at Lake Tahoe last Saturday, claiming the lives of eight individuals. It is one of the deadliest accidents to occur in recent years at this largest alpine lake in North America.
According to a statement released by a family, 37-year-old San Francisco resident Josh Pickles, his parents, 73-year-old Terry Pickles from Redwood City and 71-year-old Paula Bozinovich, as well as his 72-year-old uncle Peter Bayes from Lincoln, California, all perished in the boat overturning incident last Saturday.
Josh Pickles’ wife, Jordan Sugar-Carlsgaard, expressed in the statement on Tuesday, “We are at a loss for words to express our pain and sorrow upon learning of their lives cut short during what should have been a joyful time on the lake. Our hearts are with those who tragically lost their lives in the fatal storm on Lake Tahoe and with the two survivors.”
After the boat capsized, two individuals were rescued immediately. However, as of Tuesday, their identities and conditions were still unknown.
Sam Singer, a spokesperson for the Pickles family, stated that the group was celebrating Paula Bozinovich’s birthday on her son’s boat at the time of the accident. Her son had purchased the boat approximately a year ago.
Singer mentioned that Josh Pickles’ wife stayed home to care for their 7-month-old daughter. The couple got married in 2023 and worked at different tech companies in San Francisco. They had only used the boat twice before this tragic incident.
Coast Guard officials in the United States reported that on Saturday afternoon, as the storm whipped up massive waves, the 27-foot (8-meter) boat capsized near D.L. Bliss State Park on the southwestern edge of Lake Tahoe with ten people onboard.
Singer explained, “The waves were so big that water surged onto the boat, beginning to fill the hull and causing the engine to stall.”
The Coroner’s Office stated on Tuesday that the deceased also included 71-year-old Timothy O’Leary from Auburn, California; 66-year-old Theresa Giullari, 69-year-old James Guck, and 63-year-old Stephen Lindsay from New York.
Meteorologist Matthew Chyba from the Reno branch of the National Weather Service noted that the intensity of the thunderstorm even caught forecasters off guard. While rain had been predicted earlier, they did not anticipate the thunderstorm around 3 PM which hit the southern part of Lake Tahoe with winds exceeding 35 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour) and waves over 8 feet (approximately 2.5 meters).
*(This article is referenced from the Associated Press)*