A fundraiser has been created for 22-year-old Austin Anderson and his family. Anderson sustained life-threatening injuries when he was hit by a boat while swimming in Skeleton Lake in the Township of Muskoka Lakes.
On July 19, 2025, at just before 5 p.m., emergency responders began receiving emergency calls. Members of the public reported that there had been a boating collision on Skeleton Lake near Skeleton Lake Road 5. Callers reported that a boat had collided with a swimmer, and people on shore had managed to bring the victim out of the water.
Anderson was rushed to hospital and subsequently transported by air to a Toronto-area hospital with life-threatening injuries.
In a media release, police noted that they had located the operator of the vessel and had arrested and charged 39-year-old Richard Moore of Niagara Falls, Ontario with the following:
- Impaired Operation Causing Bodily Harm
- Failure/Refusal to Comply with Demand (breath) – Bodily Harm
- Fail to Stop at Accident Resulting in Bodily Harm
- Failure to Comply with Release Order
Moore was also charged in a hit-and-run that occurred in July 2023 and resulted in the death of an 84-year-old Niagara-on-the-Lake cyclist. Moore hit the cyclist in the pickup truck he was driving and fled the scene. Following an investigation, he was arrested in October 2023 for that incident and charged with careless driving causing death and failing to stop after an accident causing death. He pleaded guilty to failing to stop after an accident causing death, but the careless driving causing death charge was dropped.
At the time of the incident on Skeleton Lake, Moore was awaiting sentencing for the 2023 incident.
In the meantime, a GoFundMe fundraiser has been organized for Austin Anderson, a 22-year-old man from Georgina, Ontario, who was spending a summer weekend in Muskoka, enjoying time with his brother, Jordan, when tragedy struck.
“The impact left Austin critically injured. He is now in the hospital facing life-threatening injuries. Doctors have shared that the likelihood of him recovering is, heartbreakingly, very low,” states the fundraiser.
As of July 23, 2025, over $16,000 had been raised to help the family navigate the situation.
You can find the fundraiser HERE.
Related
One person seriously injured in boating collision on Skeleton Lake; operator charged with impaired
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