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“Pleasanton and its people will always be my shining light that lit the pathway through the darkness, and into a better understanding of what it means to be compassionate, kind, and giving, without reward. I try every day to pass that on, and for that … Pleasanton, I will be immensely and eternally grateful.”
Those heartfelt reflections Elaine Olson shared with me ahead of the 25th anniversary of the terrible tragedy that forever changed her family and truly captivated the collective conscience of their community.
On July 10, 1998, Jim and Elaine Olson were driving with two of their daughters through Nevada on their way to a family reunion in Colorado when their van hydroplaned in a sudden desert storm and rolled out of control on the freeway near Elko.
Jim Olson, 47, a landscaper and youth sports coach in Pleasanton, was killed. He was “quite a quiet contributor … really beloved by the kids … never tooted his own horn,” Elaine told me.
Elaine suffered severe leg injuries, 14-year-old daughter Ashley Lyn Olson was thrown from the van and ultimately paralyzed from the waist down and youngest daughter Lori Olson, then 11, sustained broken bones and major cuts and bruises. Eldest daughter Kristina Olson was not driving with her family that fateful day as she’d been home working as an oceanography assistant.
After being aided by bystanders who witnessed the horrific crash and then getting airlifted from the scene, Elaine and Ashley spent nearly a month in different units of a hospital in Salt Lake City.
Lori was discharged from the child’s ward after only a week and had to stay partly in an area Ronald McDonald House while various family members including Kristina would also arrive to provide on-the-ground support in Utah.
They then returned to the Bay Area, first to a rehabilitation center and then to their Pleasanton house to recover and somehow carry on.
And that’s when the Pleasanton community spirit stepped forward in a huge way, providing support to the Olson family at such a level that is as awe-inspiring to write about now as it had to have been in the moment 25 years ago.
Elaine remembers close friends, total strangers and everywhere in between raised money (including a barbecue fundraiser with some 2,000 people), brought over meals and goods, installed a bathroom with a roll-in shower downstairs, built a ramp into their house, donated a laptop for Ashley and just offered to help in any way they could.
All of that by word of mouth, signs around town and on the boards outside of schools, and several news features — no social media posts, group text chains or GoFundMe in those days. Amazing coordination.
“It just pulled at people’s hearts,” Elaine told me, with a pause. “There was just a need to make us OK … and that part makes me emotional.”
Knowing this anniversary was coming up, I was fortunate enough to connect with Elaine and her three daughters separately. As much as this story is about the Pleasanton community coming together in an incredible way, it’s as impactful to me as the story about the resilient journey of these four women — and overcoming personal obstacles is something many people can relate to.
As an eldest child with two siblings, I find myself particularly drawn to Kristina’s experience.
At 19 years old working a summer job, training for the swim team and on the precipice of college, she suddenly loses her father and the rest of her immediate family is seriously injured in a terrible car crash in another state, so she becomes a de facto lead caregiver as the (physically) “healthy” one — unfortunately, mental health impacts weren’t as readily considered as they are today.
“The first thing that comes to mind when I hear 25 years is I would have loved 25 years with my dad. My sisters got even less, and my mom lost a spouse at such a young age,” Kristina told me.
“I will never understand each of their pains as this was so life-altering and I still find it hard to explain. I also can’t fix it, no matter how strong I am,” Kristina said. “The question I asked myself was, ‘Is my life even worth the one that was taken?’ To live a life for someone else is noble but I am realizing not healthy.”
She opened up on how difficult the aftermath of the crash was for her, as well as the ensuing years, but said she’s found peace amid her “battle” in recent years through Christianity.
“I have continued to go through hard things in the last 10 years but a peace within that I can’t explain. I think what it is for me is knowing that in the end, all things are going to be made good,” Kristina said. “I have been living in Georgia for the last five years and have fallen in love with this place. Thank you to every single one of you that helped my mom and sisters!”
For Lori, the mental health impact of the crash, including PTSD, has been longer lasting than the physical injuries. The youngest family member involved but also the most alert right after the wreck, Lori rode in the same helicopter as her paralyzed sister and she would be the first to heal physically.
“This has been hard to reconcile over the years because I had the least injuries, but mentally I struggled because I was awake for everything and remembered everything that happened and I took on this “I’m the OK one” stance after the accident, which I am still healing through and learning how to express my needs,” Lori shared with me. “I learned everything during that time was survival, and now it’s time to release the things that no longer serve me like acting OK for the sake of others. I hope this resonates with someone!”
She credited in particular the support of her school counselor at Harvest Park Middle School, Beth Christensen, who “saved my life in so many ways” and ultimately inspired her to become a counselor herself.
“Going through the car accident helped me connect to so many different horrible student situations where they don’t feel alone when I talk to them. I know God uses our tragedy every week to touch students’ lives when I am counseling,” added Lori, who lives in Livermore with her fiance. The two are set to wed next year.
Ashley’s may be a more familiar story, as she’s been an assertive advocate for access including through her wheelchairtraveling.com website, launching the Access 2 Parks Project and publishing a book, “Confined to Align”.
“Losing a beloved family member so suddenly and young is hard, to say the least,” Ashley told me. “As a whole, being paralyzed and the accident was a doorway to enlightenment — a conscious connectedness.”
“Physically feeling less spiritually opened me to feeling more,” she added. “The transition and attention I got from being paralyzed after the accident were challenging, but the way Pleasanton came together to create wheelchair access at our two-story home continues to inspire me.”
“Being paralyzed has taught me to focus on what I can do now … That’s all anyone can really ever do. I am not sure why the accident happened and this is OK. I am grateful that my family and I have taken the steps to heal and for all our supportive relationships, including my partner,” Ashley said. “I wish us all a happy life filled with joy, laughter, and of course love.”
And Elaine, who has rediscovered her passion for painting in recent years, including exhibiting a work to a second-place finish at the Alameda County Fair this year, said as she looks back on this somber anniversary, two words stand out: gratitude and grace.
“Grace is what I have learned. I am not going to pretend this journey was not filled with tremendous struggles and setbacks. It was. But what it did teach me was how to overcome adversity and be persistent in a new world that our family had to enter,” Elaine told me. “What is powerful here is that our family — and most any other family — could rise to the challenge if faced with it.”
“We can’t possibly say thank you to every single person who was involved in those days, 25 years ago, but you all must know the message was sent loud and clear that you acknowledged Jim’s dedication to this community he so loved, and I know he would have been grateful beyond words, for the love and kindness Pleasanton showed to take care of his family in those following days and months,” she added.
Editor’s note: Jeremy Walsh is the editorial director for the Embarcadero Media East Bay Division. His “What a Week” column publishes on the second and fourth Fridays of the month.
Outstanding article, Jeremy! Thanks for sharing their story and the sense of community support for one of our own.
And kudos to the Olson family for their perseverance…very admirable.