A San Francisco woman says she nearly died after swallowing contaminated water from Lake Tahoe during a sewage spill that sent tens of thousands of gallons of raw waste into the lake last summer, according to a legal claim filed in Placer County.
Lauren Helwig, 24, a biotechnology master’s student at the University of San Francisco, alleges she contracted a life-threatening E. coli infection after wakeboarding and surfing near Carnelian Bay and Dollar Point from July 19 to 21, 2024.
The illness, known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, caused kidney failure and left her hospitalized for weeks…