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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Deaths spur ramp review


A makeshift memorial was placed near where Alice Rebecca Greely and Charlie Rae Buckingham drowned early Saturday in Hayden Lake. 
 (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
Taryn Brodwater Staff writer

Hayden Mayor Ron McIntire said Monday the city will take another look at ways to keep drivers from going down the boat ramp at Honeysuckle Beach, where nine people have been trapped in cars and drowned since 1995.

The two most recent deaths occurred early Saturday morning, when a 1997 Ford Expedition was driven down the ramp and came to rest in 12 feet of water more than 100 feet from shore. Two women died and a man escaped.

Kootenai County Sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger said alcohol may have been a factor, just as it was in previous cases. “I heard someone say over the weekend, ‘How do you drunk-proof everything?’ ” Wolfinger said.

McIntire said Monday he wasn’t sure what else the city could do to prevent crashes like the one that killed Alice “Becca” Greely and Charlie Rae Buckingham, both 22.

“We’ve got barriers, bumps and Lincoln lights,” McIntire said. “I don’t know what else we can do.”

The city previously installed two “Do Not Enter” signs, a one-way arrow, another larger arrow, a red-and-white striped reflective barricade, flashing red lights, a “Road Ends” sign and a sign that says “Boat Ramp.”

Still, McIntire said, people drive into the water. He said as far as he knows, alcohol has been involved in every previous case.

Sheriff’s detectives continue to investigate Saturday’s accident but still haven’t said who they believe was driving when the accident occurred about 3 a.m.

Jacob Tyler Compton, 22, also was in the car but escaped through a window and survived.

Reached at his home Monday, Compton said both women who died had recently moved to Coeur d’Alene from Montana. He had been dating Greely. “They were both great people and had big hearts,” he said.

A small memorial with two single roses, a bouquet of flowers and a picture of the two women together was arranged on the dock near where the SUV came to rest in the water.

Funeral homes in Missoula are handling arrangements.

Buckingham is survived by her husband and two children, ages 2 and 4. A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Montana Cremation and Memorial Society at 3035 S. Russell St., Missoula.

Livingston-Malletta and Geraghty Funeral Home said Monday that services for Greely will be held in Missoula at a later date. According to a brief death notice, Greely was born May 15, 1983, to William and Alice Greely in Missoula.

Families of the two victims could not be reached for comment Monday.

Greely’s co-workers at Coeur d’Alene’s Ironhorse Bar and Grill said she’d just recently started working as a cocktail waitress. Though they didn’t know her well, they described her as a “great girl” and a “sweetheart.”

“She looked like a little bitty Barbie doll,” said one woman, who declined to give her name.

Waitress Katie Johnston said Greely worked Saturday night and closed down the bar early Sunday morning. Johnston said she last saw her at 2:30 a.m. – a half-hour before the accident.

Johnston said two young women and a young man were waiting for Greely to finish her shift.

When Johnston learned the next morning that Greely had drowned, she said she was shocked.

“She was a very happy person and had a positive attitude,” Johnston said, adding that the last thing Greely said was: “I’ll see you tomorrow.”