Report: Drowned women drunk

Two women who drowned when their SUV plunged into Hayden Lake were legally drunk, according to a report Friday from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.

Charlie Rae Buckingham and Alice “Becca” Greely, both 22, died when the 1997 Ford Expedition they were in went down the boat ramp at Honeysuckle Beach and into the lake early April 1.

Another passenger, Jacob Tyler Compton, also 22, escaped through a window and survived with no injuries.

The sheriff’s office was unable to determine who was driving and has closed the investigation.

Compton told investigators he thought Buckingham, the SUV’s owner, was driving but said, “I’m not too sure, probably 70 percent maybe sure,” according to the report.

Buckingham’s blood alcohol content was .16 and Greely’s .15, according to the report. The legal limit in Idaho is .08.

Compton refused to take a sobriety test, according to the report.

He told the sheriff’s department both women recently moved to Coeur d’Alene from Montana, and he had been dating Greely about three weeks. Greely was working as a cocktail waitress at the Iron Horse Bar and Grill on Sherman Avenue and was last seen there about a half hour prior to the 3 a.m. crash.

Compton initially told police he “had no idea” who was driving when the SUV. He said he was sitting in the back seat but couldn’t remember anything except “waking up to water up to my knees,” according to the report.

Compton also could not recall exactly how much alcohol he, Greely and Buckingham had consumed. The owner of the Iron Horse Bar and Grill, Aaron Robb, told investigators that work rules prohibit employees from consuming alcoholic beverages on the job but allow one free drink after a shift, according to the report.

Robb said Greely had consumed a cocktail after her shift but couldn’t recall what kind, the report said.

A friend of Compton’s, Adam Cochran, contacted law enforcement four days after the accident and said he had a cell phone conversation with Compton the night of the accident in which Compton appeared to be in a car. The conversation occurred about 2:25 a.m. and consisted of Compton saying Greely was “acting crazy” and that he was going to sleep, the report said.

A co-worker of Buckingham’s at Red Lobster, Shelby Phelps, told law enforcement five days after the accident that she had seen Buckingham, Compton and Greely that evening and Buckingham was adamant about not driving drunk and had Greely drive, the report stated.

Greely was about 5-foot-1, at least 9 inches shorter than Compton and Buckingham, the report said, and officials said it isn’t likely Greely was driving given the position of the driver’s seat.

Buckingham is survived by her husband, a 4-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter.

Nine people have drowned at the boat ramp since 1995. Authorities have said alcohol was a factor in each instance.