The only two survivors of Saturday’s tragic boating accident at Lake Tahoe that killed eight people were wearing life jackets.
Amy Friduss, 40, of Rochester, New York, and her mother, Julie Lindsay, 65 of Springwater, New York, made it to shore after a raging storm capsized the 27-foot Chris Craft boat they were riding in during a family birthday celebration near D.L. Bliss State Park.
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A search and rescue unit that is affiliated with the Washoe County Sheriff’s office in Nevada said in a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon that: “The two passengers who were wearing Personal Flotation Devices were rescued by responding emergency personnel and transported to the hospital. Sadly, the remaining eight passengers drown(ed).”
The unit, known as the Hasty Team, noted that six people “were found on the surface near the capsized boat” and two others were missing at first. The Washoe County Sheriff’s office deployed two boats, including one that is equipped with a remotely operated vehicle. That ROV, which can dive to 2,000 feet, has multiple cameras, lighting, sonar and a mechanical arm.
Using the specialized equipment, one of the two missing victims was recovered Sunday afternoon at a depth of more 300 feet. The second missing victim was found and recovered Monday at a similar depth.
The two lone survivors were identified in a Go Fund Me post Thursday sponsored by the Honeoye Class of 2003.
“Physically, both mother and daughter are on the mend, but are dealing with the heartbreaking loss of their beloved husband and father, best friends and dear family who perished,” the post noted.
Friduss is the daughter of Stephen Lindsay, 63, of Springwater, N.Y. who died in the accident. Julie Lindsay is his wife.
Julie Lindsay, 65, and her husband Stephen Lindsay, 63, from Springwater, New York, were involved in a tragic boat accident Saturday June 21, 2025 at Lake Tahoe. Julie survived. Stephen was among eight people who died. (Photo: Go Fund Me)
Also killed in the accident were Paula Bozinovich, 71, from Redwood City; Terry Pickles, 73, from Redwood City; Josh Pickles, 37, a DoorDash executive from San Francisco; Peter Bayes, 72, from Lincoln, Calif.; Timothy O’Leary, 71, from Auburn, Calif.; Theresa Giullari, 66, from Honeoye, New York; and James Guck, 69, from Honeoye, New York.
The group had gone out to celebrate Bozinovich’s birthday. It was only the third time that Josh Pickles and his father, Terry, who purchased the boat last year, had taken it out on Lake Tahoe.
When the family and friends went out on the lake during calm weather that morning, Josh’s wife, Jordan Sugar-Carlsgaard, a former U.S. senate staff member and employee at Airbnb in San Francisco, stayed at a home in the Tahoe area with the couple’s 7-month-old daughter that the family owns.
The weather was calm and sunny when the boaters left shore. Within a few hours a violent storm whipped up, causing chaos on the lake, generating 35 mph winds and 8-foot waves that broke dozens of boats from their floating moorings along Tahoe’s South Shore and sent veteran sailors into rocky coves seeking shelter.
The boat was swamped and its engine stalled. After it capsized, a California state park ranger and state park lifeguard were the first on the scene. They swam out to the overturned boat and helped rescue the two women. The women were treated for hypothermia and other injuries.
Friduss works as a nurse practitioner at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Julie Lindsay recently retired from L3 Harris Technologies, an aerospace and defense company with offices in Rochester.
“Those of us who know Amy or Julie know they are always the first to step up for others,” noted the Go Fund Me post, which seeks to raise $50,000 to help the women with funeral expenses, medical bills, travel and other costs.
“Amy is a loving and devoted nurse practitioner who, in her spare time, treats people living in homeless encampments, making sure they have medical supplies that are necessary for survival. She is the most giving person anyone could know. Julie would do anything for anyone, and would quite literally give the shirt off her back if someone needed it. Her bright and shining personality could light up a room.”
A boat from the Washoe County, Nevada Sheriff’s Department assists in the search and recovery operation after eight people drowned in a boating accident on Saturday June 21, 2025 off D.L. Bliss State Park at Lake Tahoe. (Photo: Washoe County Sheriff’s Department)
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department has not said whether the passengers on the boat were wearing life jackets. California law requires anyone under 13 years old to wear a life jacket in a moving boat. Adults are not required to wear them but boat operators are required to have one for every person on board.
State parks officials have referred questions about the life jackets to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department.
The Go Fund Me page described Stephen Lindsay as “the unofficial mayor of Honeoye,” a small town in western New York state with a population of 660 people. “He was quick with a big smile, a hug and a joke for everyone and will be missed beyond measure for his huge heart and quick wit,” the post noted.
His wife, Julie, “was planning on spending her years with her husband, best friends from childhood Theresa Giullari and Jim Guck, and her siblings and family in California, and now has to navigate this new unknown alone,” the post added. “Now, it’s just Amy and her mom left to face the unthinkable — broken hearts, unanswered questions, and the difficulty of life with only memories to hold onto.”
Amy Friduss, 40, of Rochester, New York and her mother, Julie Lindsay, 65, of Springwater, New York, were the only two survivors of a tragic boat accident at Lake Tahoe on Saturday June 21, 2025 that claimed the lives of eight of their family and friends. (Photo: Go Fund Me)