Signs point to alcohol

Coeur d’Alene’s Third Street Dock is one of the most heavily used public boat launches in the state. Kootenai County manages more than 25 others.

All the ramps combined haven’t had anywhere near the trouble of a lone boat ramp belonging to the city of Hayden. Nine people since 1995 have drowned in vehicles driven down the ramp at Honeysuckle Beach and into Hayden Lake.

Local officials, law enforcement and the fishermen who use the ramp are perplexed: Why is the launch with the most safety precautions and warning signs the deadliest?

Alice “Becca” Greely and Charlie Rae Buckingham, both 22, drowned last weekend after a Ford Expedition was driven into the lake, sinking 150 feet from shore in 12 feet of water. Jacob T. Compton, also 22, was the only person in the SUV who escaped the 39-degree water.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department hasn’t said who was driving, but authorities say they believe alcohol was a factor in the deadly crash – just as it was in the other accidents at the Honeysuckle boat launch.

Hayden officials beefed up warnings at the popular ramp in 1998 after a car plunged into the lake, killing two men and a woman inside. That fatal accident occurred despite the fact the city had posted three speed limit signs, two “Road Ends” signs and two “Do Not Enter” signs.

After the ‘98 accident, the city decided to put up an aluminum barrier and a “Dead End” sign.

Today the warning signs begin seven-tenths of a mile from Honeysuckle Beach. “Dead End” is the first of more than a dozen signs and signals warning drivers to slow down, that they’re driving the wrong way and a boat ramp is ahead of them. The city also installed a flashing double red light.

Given all they’ve done to try to prevent more accidents, authorities are stumped by the repeated loss of life, including last week’s crash, and say they aren’t sure what else they can do.

“Any death is tragic, especially young lives,” Hayden City Councilwoman Nancy Taylor said. “But what more can you do?”

City officials “feel there’s adequate signage and markings” at the launch, Hayden City Administrator Jay Townsend said.

Though there’s been discussion in the past between city officials and residents of gating off the park, Townsend said the city can’t do that because some lakefront homes use the drive down to the boat ramp to access their homes. Also, the city has it written into city code that boaters can use the ramp to put in and take out their boats at any hour.

Some fishermen, Townsend said, go out on the lake before daylight and return long after dark. He said the city has discussed closing the boat ramp but not because people continue to drive down the ramp and drown. It has more to do with congestion and conflict between beach users and people trying to launch boats.

Townsend said any discussion of closing the boat launch is premature. The city wants to find another location on the lake for a public boat launch first.

Taylor used to manage Honeysuckle Beach as a city employee who oversaw lifeguards and a snack bar there. She said the city has taken some “pretty big measures” to warn drivers of the danger ahead.

“Until we stop drunk driving, I don’t know what else to do,” she said. “It has to do with drunk driving, not the signage at Honeysuckle Beach.”

Some users of the boat ramp agree.

“That’s plenty of indication,” Michael Keese said this week as he launched his speedboat. The owner of Hayden Lake Realty said he’s lived on the lake for 10 years and remembers hearing about the numerous fatalities at the boat ramp.

“You got to put the blame where the alcohol is,” Keese said. “You shouldn’t be behind the wheel if you’re drinking.”

Fisherman Robert Carter said he felt the flashing light and barricade were highly visible.

“You’d think somebody would see that,” he said.