'Heart-wrenching': Oakville woman, 51, killed in boat crash remembered as loving mother of 3
A 51-year-old woman killed in a boat crash in Muskoka is being remembered for her warm heart and positivity.
Although the OPP identified one of the two people killed in the Lake Rosseau collision as Donna Wiley, her family said she would have wanted to be remembered as Maureen Spero" ("Maureen" is her middle name and "Spero" her maiden name).
Nicknamed "Moe" for short by those close to her and who knew her well, Spero was a loving mother of three, according to family and friends.
According to Global News, who spoke with Spero's family, the woman was driving her boat to Windermere House hotel with two of her three grown children to have dinner when her boat collided with another motorized pleasure craft.
Spero's children tried to rescue their mother but couldn't find her and had to swim to shore, according to a family member who spoke with Global News.
Friends and neighbours of Spero's say she was a devoted and fun mom with an infectious smile.
"It is such a heart-wrenching tragedy as Moe was so full of life, energy and humour and had so much more of it to give," neighbour Kayla Walstroy told Inside Halton.
Spero's body was recovered by police divers at 4 p.m. Thursday (July 15), almost 24 hours after a two-vessel boat crash was reported on Lake Rosseau near Windermere Marina after officers received "multiple 9-1-1 calls" from members of the public, police said in a release.
Witnesses described seeing several people in the water after the collision. Officers, along with Muskoka EMS, Muskoka Lakes Fire Department, the OPP Marine Unit, the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (USRU) and the OPP Aviation Unit responded.
A total of six people were on board the two vessels at the time of the collision and four were rescued from the water and rushed to hospital with injuries, police said.
Three of the injured have since been released from hospital and one was airlifted to a Toronto area hospital where they are being treated for life-threatening injuries.
Unfortunately, police said, a 13-year-old girl from Toronto was confirmed dead at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Bracebridge OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. You can submit your information online at www.crimestopperssdm.com.