A boat capsized on Lake Tahoe, resulting in eight fatalities, none of whom were wearing life vests. A family celebrating a birthday was among the victims. Initially calm conditions deteriorated into a fierce storm with ten-foot waves. As the boat returned to shore, it began to hail and was overwhelmed by waves. Although two survivors were rescued, six bodies were found the same day and two more the following day. The preliminary report noted that no distress calls were made from the vessel, and life vests were recovered from the scene.
"None of the eight people killed when a boat capsized during a sudden and fierce storm last month on Lake Tahoe in California were wearing life vests," federal investigators reported.
"Weather was mostly calm when the party of 10 left the marina, but within about two hours winds were strong enough to create whitecaps," preliminary report stated.
"At one point, a particularly large wave overtook the boat," states the report, detailing the moments leading to the capsizing and subsequent tragedy.
"Two people were rescued immediately after it flipped over. One of the survivors was found clinging to a life vest and the other was wearing one," the report indicated.
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