How a Birthday Boat Ride on Lake Tahoe Turned Tragic
The weekend seemed perfect for a summer excursion on the azure waters of Lake Tahoe. Josh Pickles, a DoorDash executive, took several family members and friends on his boat to celebrate his mother's 71st birthday. His wife, Jordan Sugar-Carlsgaard, stayed home to care for their infant daughter.
But sunshine suddenly gave way to a ferocious storm on Saturday afternoon that caught even longtime Tahoe residents by surprise. Thunder and lightning roared from the sky, dumping rain and snow. Waves as tall as eight feet ripped across the lake, according to some accounts.
The day ended in a nightmare. Mr. Pickles's 27-foot-long boat capsized, tossing passengers into the frigid water toward the south end of the lake. He and his parents died, along with five of their guests.
And Ms. Sugar-Carlsgaard, 38, suddenly found herself a widow with a seven-month-old baby.
'We are devastated by this tragedy,' she said in a statement. '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.'
Mr. Pickles was an experienced sailor but the gold Chris-Craft boat was still new to him, said Sam Singer, a family representative. He had operated it twice last year, and Saturday's outing was the first time he had taken it out this season.
Like many who work in the tech industry, the couple split time between their homes in the Tahoe region and in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Ms. Sugar-Carlsgaard is an executive assistant at Airbnb, according Mr. Singer.
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