The eight people who died Saturday while boating on Lake Tahoe included a DoorDash executive from San Francisco, his parents, an uncle, and family friends, authorities announced Tuesday.
The victims were identified by the El Dorado County sheriff’s office as Joshua Antony Pickles, 37, of San Francisco; Paula Bozinovich, 71, and Terry Pickles, 73, of Redwood City; Peter Bayes, 72, of Lincoln; Timothy O’Leary, 71, of Auburn; Theresa Giullari, 66, and James Guck, 69, of Honeoye; and Stephen Lindsay, 63, of Springwater, N.Y.
The eight were on a 27-foot Chris-Craft boat that sank Saturday near D.L. Bliss State Park when a storm bringing 8-foot waves and strong winds battered Lake Tahoe. Two others who were onboard survived after the boat capsized.
Joshua Pickles was a DoorDash executive, according to a representative of his wife, Jordan Sugar-Carlsgaard. Terry Pickles and Bozinovich were his parents, and Bayes was his uncle, she said.
Sugar-Carlsgaard had stayed ashore to care for the couple’s 7-month-old daughter, according to the family’s representative, Sam Singer. The couple bought the brand-new boat a little over a year ago and taken it out twice during the last boating season; last weekend’s outing was its third time in use, Singer said.
“We are devastated by this tragedy,” said Sugar-Carlsgaard, who works as a senior executive assistant for Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. “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.”
Jackie Fogarty, who lives above the apartment that Pickles and his wife shared in the Marina, had not yet heard the news.
“Oh, my God,” she said. “They have a newborn baby.”
She added that she did not know the couple, but they were always considerate neighbors.
Ravi Inukonda, DoorDash’s chief financial officer, issued condolences in a statement Tuesday.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic accident that took the life of our beloved colleague,” Inukonda said of Joshua Pickles, who worked as global head of strategic sourcing and procurement with the company’s finance team. “Josh loved his team and was an inspiration to everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. During his nearly seven years at DoorDash, he brought a contagious spirit that lifted those around him. Our thoughts and love are with his wife, his daughter, his family, and all who were close to him. We are working to support them through this incredibly difficult time.”
Rob Lewerenz, who owns a dog-walking service in the Marina, said he became acquainted with Pickles whom he often saw taking his daughter and black Labrador on jaunts through the neighborhood.
“It hits home when it’s a neighbor,” Lewerenz said. “You don’t think it’s going to be someone you see every other day around the neighborhood. I just can’t imagine the pain and devastation. It’s such a freak accident.”
The El Dorado County sheriff’s office said it extends “its deepest heartfelt condolences to the families of those who were lost and all those who have been affected by this tragic event.”
Multiple law enforcement and public safety agencies participated in the rescue and subsequent search and recovery operations Saturday.
“We are deeply grateful to the U.S. Coast Guard, El Dorado County sheriff’s office, regional law enforcement and fire agencies in Washoe and San Joaquin, local lifeguards, and all the first responders in the search and rescue effort. We are profoundly thankful for their help in the tragic situation,” Sugar-Carlsgaard said.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Pickles worked as a senior manager at Salesforce in 2018 and at Cisco for more than five years prior to that.