St. Charles family still grieving 26 years after daughter died in crash involving drunken driver

Gerri and Richard Schlachta remember their only daughter, Noelle, as a beautiful, vibrant young woman whose friendly, bubbly personality drew people to her.

Among the photos the St. Charles family cherish is one from her prom in 1985, where Noelle Schlachta is sitting in a chair, ensconced in white chiffon ruffles and holding a pink and white bouquet, her face beaming with a happy smile.

“Everybody who knew her, loved her,” Gerri Schlachta said.

Noelle Schlachta was killed by a drunken driver at 5:10 a.m. April 30, 1989, on the Northwest Tollway near Route 59. She was 21.

After her death, the Schlachtas were spurred into action to try to discourage drunken driving. Gerri Schlachta, 73, said she has spoken to high school groups about not drinking and driving. She said she also has been part of victim impact panels speaking to drivers charged with drunken driving.

With this being the three-day Labor Day weekend, the Schlachtas said they hoped retelling the story of losing their daughter will deter others from driving drunk and possibly causing another family a lifetime of grief.

“It’s when they sit at a bar so long, then go in the car and don’t realize,” said Richard Schlachta, 75, his voice trailing off.

“He served his time and went on,” Gerri Schlachta said of the man who drove drunk and killed their daughter. “Our sentence is forever. My jail – I won’t ever leave it.”

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Gerri and Rich Schlachta, who own R&G Decorating, had three children. Noelle Schlachta was the oldest. Erich Schlachta, who is an Elburn police officer now, was 17 when his sister was killed. Jason was 9.

“I had two miscarriages before I had Noelle,” Gerri Schlachta said. “She was what we had waited for. And I picked the name because it was my father’s name, Noel. … I said if I ever had a daughter, I would name her Noelle.”

Noelle Schlachta was a 1985 graduate of the now-closed Valley Lutheran High School, formerly in St. Charles. After high school, she was a student at Elgin Community College while working as a marketing coordinator when she was killed, her mother said.

The Sunday morning she died, the family was at home instead of at church, Gerri Schlachta said.

“We were not going to church because we were getting ready for our relatives who were coming from Germany to the U.S.,” Gerri Schlachta said.

“They came right to our front door, the police,” Rich Schlachta, 75, said.

The driver, Michael Coolidge, 25, a Woodstock resident at the time, ran his pickup truck into the rear of Noelle Schlachta’s 1983 Oldsmobile, sending it into an oncoming semitrailer. His blood-alcohol level was 0.20 percent, twice the legal limit at the time. In 1997, the limit was reduced to 0.08 percent, according to the Illinois Secretary of State website.

“He came up behind her at 95 miles an hour,” Gerri Schlachta said. “He hit her so hard, and she went flying across the highway. We did not have an open casket.”

In a plea agreement, Coolidge was sentenced to two years in prison for reckless homicide. Coolidge never apologized, Gerri Schlachta said.

According to a spokesman for the Illinois Secretary of States, records show Coolidge moved to Montana, where he does not have a driver’s license. When contacted in Montana, Coolidge said he had no comment regarding Noelle Schlachta.

Gerri and Rich Schlachta said they continue to struggle with their daughter’s death.

They have not had a Christmas tree in their house since Noelle Schlachta died. They recently ordered a headstone for her grave in Union Cemetery, St. Charles. They said they feel cheated out of the life she should have had – getting married and having children.

“The grandchildren I would have had from Noelle are buried with her,” Gerri Schlachta said.

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Rita Kreslin, executive director of the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists, said many families travel over the three-day Labor Day weekend because it’s the end of summer.

“Unfortunately, at many backyard barbecues, alcohol is flowing freely,” Kreslin said. “We try to remind people [to] celebrate safely. And if partaking in drinking, to make sure they have a designated driver and are making good decisions. It’s just devastating what happens when they hit the road if they are impaired. … People make poor decisions when they start drinking.”

Kreslin said she lost her 19-year-old son in a drunken driving crash 13 years ago
Aug. 30 – during Labor Day weekend – in Indiana. But the work of AAIM, similar organizations and victim impact panels – like the ones Gerri Schlachta participated in – has contributed to reducing drunken driving deaths, Kreslin said.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation statistics, in 1982, there were 1,651 crash fatalities in the state, and of those, 968 were alcohol-related, Kreslin said.

In 2010, there were 927 crash fatalities, and of those, 366 were alcohol-related. In 2013, there were 991 crash fatalities with 317 killed in alcohol-related crashes, Kreslin said.

“So we’ve made a huge difference,” Kreslin said. “It’s made a difference for several reasons – organizations like ours – because of laws charging and our partners in law enforcement, governors, the secretary of state. Many people that have changed the attitudes of people that it’s not OK to drink and drive. It’s just not.”

She said the average cost of a drunken driving defense is $10,000 to $14,000, so that is another incentive for people not to drink and drive.

“You could get a hotel room or pay Uber – or you could go to court and face a victim impact panel,” Kreslin said.

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Elburn Police Sgt. Erich Schlachta said his sister’s death does not affect how he does his job when it includes pulling over impaired drivers in Elburn or Pingree Grove, where he is a part-time officer.

“It does not influence the way I do my job or what I do,” Erich Schlachta said. “Supervisors in the past have questioned me about that. I certainly would not do something that would dishonor my sister’s memory at all. What I do in the field, I do by the book. It’s always been that way.”

Erich Schlachta said he does not regard those he pulls over for drunken driving “any different than people who made a mistake – and I treat them with respect, as well.”

“People make bad choices. And a lot of the situations I’ve had with people who are intoxicated is, as they sober up, they realize they have made a bad choice,” Erich Schlachta said.

“And when I run into them again, they thank me for what I did,” he said. “The first thing alcohol impairs is judgment. It goes right out the window. As human beings, we all make mistakes. I’ve been doing this for 18 years now. I see a lot of people make bad choices.”

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Illinois State Police and local law enforcement will be part of a Labor Day weekend campaign “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” until 11:59 p.m. Monday, Labor Day, state officials said.

State police, the Secretary of State Police and 250 local departments statewide will be conducting roadside safety checks as part of the enforcement. In Kane County, these include St. Charles and North Aurora police departments.

On the Web:

An online media campaign urging safe driving is available at www.thedrivingdeadseries.com.