Badger Teacher Was Drunk
A West Bend School District teacher who was one of the drivers in a Sept. 18 double-fatal crash on state Highway 144 in Farmington was intoxicated after drinking at a West Bend tavern for at least five hours prior to the collision, Washington County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said Wednesday.
Crash investigators determined that Rachael M. Olson, 34, a sixth-grade teacher at Badger Middle School in West Bend, was at the tavern from 4 to 9 p.m. that day, Schmidt said.
Toxicology tests found that Olson, a Campbellsport resident, had a blood alcohol level of 0.24%, three times the legal threshold for intoxication. Alcohol use appears to be the cause of the crash, Schmidt said.
Olson’s vehicle was traveling southbound on Highway 144 about 9:20 p.m. Sept. 18 when it crossed fully into the opposite lane near Elm Tree Drive. Her vehicle then crashed nearly head-on into a northbound sport utility vehicle driven by Donald E. Voeks, 58, of Farmington, according to a news release.
Olson and Voeks’ wife, Bette, 60, were killed in the crash. The Voekses were trapped in their vehicle and had to be extricated. The Voekses were about three miles from home.
Not drunk - stink’n drunk
This wasn’t her first time. You have to have been drinking for awhile to even be able to walk with that level of alcohol in your system.
The bigger tradgy was the lady who was the innocent victim, her crime was riding in the car… That’s the real shame.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 30, 2009 at 1753 hrs
That’s exactly what I meant.
Posted by Owen on September 30, 2009 at 1755 hrs
Bloggers: Before posting, remember young family members of one of the vicitms of this crash will google this someday. Please keep that in mind.
I wonder how many people bought her a drink(s) that night. I wonder what the bartender was thinking. Could have anyone stopped her from driving that night?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 30, 2009 at 1916 hrs
Still… ultimately she is responsible for her behavior and she killed another person because of her decisions. Perhaps the young family members should recognize that and learn from it.
Posted by Owen on September 30, 2009 at 1919 hrs
I’m certainly not casting judgement.
At the risk of sounding unsympathetic (I am definitely sympathetic), I’ve seen other teachers from West Bend
defining her work as ‘having made a difference’, etc.Because I am not a public servant, am I not ‘making
a difference’?Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 30, 2009 at 2145 hrs
I don’t think that’s it. I think that it’s a way of making people feel better knowing that she made a lasting impression on the people whose lives she touched. It makes death seem less final.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 30, 2009 at 2212 hrs
To Anonymous. Somehow I knew it wouldn’t take long for someone to use this to bash public employees.
Wendy, your comment is both charitable and true.
There are many people in our lives who “have made a difference.” Teachers are possibly often cited as making a difference because they, well, teach us at a time in our lives where huge differences are taking place. The same would be true of a private school teacher.
This is a tragedy, more so because it was completely preventable and an innocent person died.
And more so, because a person who students very well did look up to, who probably did influence students for good, who probably did make a positive difference in kids lives, has committed a final awful act that for everyone but her close friends and family will understandably overshadow any good she did.
We can only hope that the last, and greatest, difference she makes will be to cause young people to think and not to repeat her irresponsible, criminal, final act.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 0613 hrs
Since I don’t have any double standards with regards to these things, I feel VERY little sympathy for Ms. (Mrs.?) Olson. She committed homicide, period. I do not feel that the whole of her life, whatever good she may have done, outweighs that.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 0704 hrs
My first thought after I heard she was legally over the limit was, wow, how are they going to handle this with the students?
My second thought was how horrible I feel for her two children. They lost a mommy, no matter how, they lost their mom, innocent children lost their mom. On top of that, they are old enough (both in elementart school) to understand a bit about how it happened. I do not condone drinking and driving, and I know children lose a parent or both parents in all situations all over the US everyday, but this happened in our town, and I just feel so bad for the kids and for the whole family. May God Bless.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 0811 hrs
Jodster…. do you not feel for the innocent Dondald and Bette Vueks?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 0824 hrs
The person killed by the teacher, did that person ‘make a difference’?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 0934 hrs
She was a public servant, as well, from what I understand.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 1024 hrs
I guess my question would be - with all the emphasis’ on drunk drivers why do we not have something in place at taverns. I know in west bend there is no services after 10:00pm for transportation. Business which sell alcohol make there money on alcohol. I know these issue are personnal decision but being what we know happens this should be looked at a little closer.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 1150 hrs
I think there needs to be an element of compasson on both ends. The couple who were hit by Olson, with one woman dying, most definitely were unsuspecting and undeserving. Painful and unnecessary death.
Though Olson made a terrible, terrible mistake, it does not discount her entire life. Her family will be living with two things: the wonderful, memorable moments she made with them, and this.
Tragic though it is, all life is valuable and Olson’s is not less because of her choice. Both deaths were avoidable.
What’s done is done. Perhaps focusing on family support in the days to come is more beneficial for all.
From what I understand this was her first offense, and her last. What about those who are arrested and given the keys back, time and again and again and again? Maybe we could focus on Wisconsin’s asinine drunk driving laws.
Posted by GAMazy on October 01, 2009 at 1433 hrs
Jeff and anonymous,
Read my post again, I said my FIRST and SECOND thoughts, not my ONLY thoughts. So, I guess I need to say it to you who don’t understand that it should go without saying of course I feel bad for Mr. Voeks for what he is going through with being seriously injured and losing his wife and their whole family, especially their kids and grandkids for the horrible loss and tragedy they are going through. I also feel bad for her students and the parents who needed to comfort, then explain it to them. I also feel bad for any poor animal who was hurt or had to witness this accident, (give me a break)—geez, do I need to go through every single thought for you people??!! As a mother, I just automatically thought about the kids. So sorry I offended you. (as I roll my eyes)Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 1612 hrs
GAMazy:
Yes this was her last offense…thank God, otherwise next week she would be back onthe road…lookin to kill someone else….The superintendent of the school district on T.V. last nite was totally ridiculous…..we will focus on the good things that she did….
when are you gonna start realizing that she killed someone, a murderer…same as Jeffry Dahmer….or the north side strangler….
Don’t ask other people to MAKE her stop drinking, she is utlimately responsible for her own actions…shouldn’t we ALL be responsible for our OWN actions….everybody wants to blame someone else….what a croc! Own it people….
So, now the 5th graders in Washington School will think, well, she did a lot of good in this world,
they will also find out that she DRANK, DROVE DRUNK, and REALLY DRUNK, and killed someone,
so, as long as the teachers at Washington say:
this is good person….and good people drive drunk??? since when??? not in my houselhold!!!!.....kids will think NOTHING of driving drunk after this superintendent tells her school that everything is okay!when they get to that age….they will think it is okay
to drive drunk!!!
Wake Up Washington Superintendent….!!!!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 1614 hrs
You know I was feeling bad for Ms. Olson and then I asked myself why? I did not feel bad for Dr. Benson - he was a doctor surely he did something good too. When he made the same tragic choice to drive drunk and ended up killing someone I never thought, “How sad that he made such a bad choice, but he still did some good so let’s focus on that.”
Honestly, the only reason I have been able to come up with for my different reactions is that Ms. Olson was a pretty young women and Dr. Benson was a creepy looking middle-aged guy. Anyone else want to admit it?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 1619 hrs
John wrote, “when are you gonna start realizing that she killed someone, a murderer…same as Jeffry Dahmer….or the north side strangler….”
While I will not defend Rachael Olson deciding to drive while intoxicated, and the terrible result that occurred because of that wrong decision, I know that good people have the capacity to make a bad decisions. Jeffry Dahmer’s murders were no accident. The north side strangler’s murders were no accident. This event was an accident. A tragic accident that has changed the lives of two families. Equating Ms. Olson to Jeffry Dahmer and the north side strangler is wrong in so many ways.
My sympathies go out to Donald Voeks for the loss of his wife Bette. I too have lost a spouse and know the pain he must be feeling. I also know that Rachael Olson probably came from a loving family and the hurt they feel can be no less than that of Mr. Voeks, and my sympathies go out to her family.
Hopefully Ms. Olson’s students can learn from her tragic mistake and realize that even good people can make a life altering mistake that have far reaching consequences, and that not only bad people do bad things.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 1813 hrs
First of all I want to say that I in NO MEANS want to condone drinking and driving. With that said, I agree with Dr. Herdrich (the superintendent) that hopefully the students in West Bend can learn one last lesson from from a great teacher and the unfortunate decision she made on Sept 18. Perhaps this accident is something the district could choose to incorporate into their “Every 15 minutes” presentation in the spring - and maybe even something the area driving schools will use when they talk about drinking and driving.
As a an alumnus of West Bend School District, I had the privilege of being in Rachael’s class six years ago. During that time she helped my deal with the death of a close family member and from what she did for me I know that she would want people to be there for not only her children and family members, but also the friends and family members of Bette Voeks. We all make mistakes in our lives. The unfortunate thing with this mistake is that not only one, but two lives were lost, two families forever affected. My heart goes out to the friends and family members of Voeks that will be putting a mother, wife, friend, and grandmother to rest this weekend and also to the family and friends of Olson - who are just trying to move forward in the grieving process and now have to deal with the awful things that are being said about her.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2009 at 2149 hrs
John,
There are significant legal distinctions between murder and involuntary manslaughter.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 02, 2009 at 0051 hrs
Some unanswered question come to mind. What bar was she at? Why was she coming southbound on 144 that far northeast of West Bend, and southeast of Campbellsport? Did she go somewhere else after leaving the bar. or was she lost? I believe there’s more to this story than what has been reported.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 02, 2009 at 0928 hrs
John,
There are significant legal distinctions between murder and involuntary manslaughter.The distinctions, for most people are just that, legal.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 02, 2009 at 1055 hrs
There is no such thing as “murder” in Wisconsin’s criminal code. It does not exist, so there cannot be any legal distinctions between murder and anything else. There is also no such thing as involuntary manslaughter in Wisconsin.
What you need to be talking about are the differences between: First degree intentional homicide and Homicide by intoxicated use of vehicle or firearm.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 02, 2009 at 1108 hrs
There is no such thing as “murder” in Wisconsin’s criminal code. It does not exist, so there cannot be any legal distinctions between murder and anything else. There is also no such thing as involuntary manslaughter in Wisconsin.
Semantics. Period.
First degree intentional homicide is the functional equivalent of murder. i.e there is malice and forethought. Involuntary manslaughter is the functional equivalent of Homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle or firearm. i.e. no malice or forethought.Although you’d have a tough time telling a non-lawyer that there is any moral distinction.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 02, 2009 at 1123 hrs
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