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11 deaths at Honeysuckle Beach boat launch since 1995

"It's pretty sad because this is such a beautiful place," said Linda Fournier, of Hayden as she walked wih her husband, Moe, near the Hayden Lake boat launch at Honeysuckle Beach on Friday, March 18, 2011. A woman drove her car into the lake on Thursday, March 17, and died at the scene. There have been 12 deaths at the Hayden Lake boat launch since 1995. KATHY PLONKA kathypl@spokesman.com (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
By Ryan Collingwood ryanc@spokesman.com(509) 459-5473

Alcohol was likely a factor in Saturday’s deadly vehicle crash into Hayden Lake, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.

Christopher Lancaster, 34, died after the car he was believed to be driving went down the Honeysuckle Beach boat launch and sunk around 2:30 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office said.

The death Saturday was at least the 11th to occur at the boat launch since 1995, according to news files, and the second since 2011.

Lancaster’s passenger, Andrea Berkey, 25, swam to a dock and sustained minor injuries. Lancaster was pulled from the frigid waters by a dive team and was pronounced dead at Kootenai Health.

Both occupants were in the vehicle while it was sinking, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

“This vehicle is sinking, we have (the reporting party) on landline, she is in the vehicle at this time,” a police dispatch scanner can be heard to say.

According to the police scanner, the car was about 15 feet under water.

Lancaster, a Post Falls native with two young children, posted a celebratory Facebook status hours before the crash

“What is everyone up to tonight?,” Lancaster posted. “I am celebrating a new job, who can make it out?”

An autospy has been performed and investigators expect toxicology results in the next four to six weeks.

A Go Fund Me account has been set up for Lancaster’s family.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, this is the third time a vehicle has crashed into the Honeysuckle Beach boat launch since 2011. Alcohol was a factor in the previous two crashes, on of which resulted in a fatality.

In 2011, 34-year-old Jennifer M. Gonzalez died when she drove into the boat launch.

In April 2006, two women were killed and a male passenger escaped through a window.

All of the earlier fatal crashes involving the boat launch involved alcohol use by the driver, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dennis Stinebaugh said Tuesday.

The City of Hayden made safety changes for Honeysuckle Beach in 2007. The city installed several warning and stop signs, a concrete island, and speed limits that go from 25 mph, 15 and then to 5 mph.

Drivers are also directed to turn left to a parking lot near a “Do Not Enter” sign once they’re nearing the boat launch from Honeysuckle Road.