It takes a village and awareness to save lives
Thoreson
Thursday marks the 55th anniversary of a drunk driving crash that has impacted three families, including mine, for over half a century. On April 23, 1971, Larry Oleson and Rod Hart were passengers in a vehicle driven by their friend. Larry and Rod were 22-year-old Vietnam Army combat veterans when they died at 10:30 p.m. that rainy Friday night after spending time at a Silver Beach tavern.
As they came into Coeur d’Alene on what is now Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive but was then Interstate 90, the driver, at a high rate of speed, rear-ended a pickup parked on the street in front of the Ace of Clubs. Larry and Rod died at the scene and the driver sustained minor injuries. A graphic photograph of the crash with first responders rendering aid, including extrication, appeared on the front page of the Coeur d’Alene Press.
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