DoorDash exec, family among 8 dead in Lake Tahoe boating accident – National

A DoorDash executive and members of his family have been identified among the eight people killed when a boat capsized on Lake Tahoe in California over the weekend.

Josh Pickles, 37, of San Francisco, his parents, 73-year-old Terry Pickles and 71-year-old Paula Bozinovich of Redwood City, and his uncle, 72-year-old Peter Bayes of Lincoln, died Saturday during a sudden and fierce thunderstorm in one of the deadliest accidents on the lake in recent years.

“No words can express the pain and anguish we feel knowing their lives were lost during what was meant to be a joyful time on the lake,” Josh Pickles’ wife, Jordan Sugar-Carlsgaard, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Our hearts go out to those who tragically lost their lives and the two survivors of this unexpected and deadly storm on Lake Tahoe.”

Two people were rescued immediately after the boat flipped over. Their identities and conditions were not known Wednesday.

Ten people were on board the eight-metre gold Chris-Craft vessel when it capsized on June 21, on the lake’s southwest edge, as the storm whipped up high waves with winds of about 30 knots and swells of up to eight feet, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials.

Rescue workers and divers searched the area on Saturday evening and resumed their search Sunday morning before the coast guard suspended its search.

Also killed were Timothy O’Leary, 71, of Auburn, Calif.; Theresa Giullari, 66, and James Guck, 69, of Honeyoye, N.Y.; and Stephen Lindsay, 63, of Springwater, N.Y., the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said on Tuesday.

“The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office extends its deepest heartfelt condolences to the families of those who were lost and all those who have been affected by this tragic event,” the sheriff’s office added.

Sam Singer, a family spokesperson, said “the waves were so big that the water came onboard and started to fill the boat up and stalled the engine.”

The group was celebrating Bozinovich’s birthday on her son’s boat, which he bought about a year ago, according to Singer.

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Sugar-Carlsgaard had stayed at home taking care of their seven-month-old daughter, Singer said.

The couple, who married in 2023, both worked at tech companies in San Francisco. Josh Pickles worked at DoorDash and Sugar-Carlsgaard works at Airbnb.

They split their time between homes in the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe, where they had used their boat only twice before.

Ravi Inukonda, chief financial officer at DoorDash, said the death of Josh, who had worked at the company for nearly seven years, left them heartbroken.

“Josh loved his team and was an inspiration to everyone who had the privilege of knowing him,” Inukonda said in a statement. “Our thoughts and love are with his wife, his daughter, his family, and all who were close to him.”

Drowning and other accidental deaths occur each year on the lake but boating accidents with numerous fatalities are rare, South Lake Tahoe police Lt. Scott Crivelli said.

There are an average of six deaths on the lake each summer, though there were a record 15 fatalities in 2021, he said.

“I can’t remember the last time there were eight dead at once and I have been here 16 years,” Crivelli said.

— With files from The Associated Press

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