We are still holding on to hope that someday we will have clarity on all our unanswered questions in regard to that tragic day. "Absolutely not.". Just hours later, Schuler was weaving wildly through oncoming traffic for nearly two miles before the crash ended so fatally. I said something else had to have happened but after the 2nd toxicology came back positive, I said Damn, she did drive while under the influence. This typical yet outgoing woman married Daniel Schuler, an avid outdoorsman. Eight were killed in all: Guy Bastardi, 43, his father Michael Bastardi, 81, and a family friend, Daniel Longo, 72, as well as the Hance girls, Schuler and her 2-year-old daughter Erin. Investigators assumed that she was on the Westchester side of the Tappan Zee Bridge as her niece got on the phone and said she could see a sign for Tarrytown. View all posts by The Unsolved UK Podcast. When deputies arrived at 6:32 p.m. Sunday at the house on the 16900 block of NW Indian Ridge Drive, they found Battersby performing CPR on Schuler, who said he found his sister submerged in a . They worked different shifts. This documentary explores the depth behind the case of a woman whose vehicle collision killed numerous people, including herself. Sept. 1, 2009, 2:23 PM PDT / Source: NBCNewYork.com. Determine how a defective motor vehicle contributed to the crash. 2015). The crash tore their extended family apart, and while Mr Schuler has frequently spoken out, the Hances have remained private until now. Never talking about her pain is not good!
Of course, this could be attributed to her intoxicated state but, we cant rule out that Diane was just pissed. to me the aforementioned makes no sense, so when that happens you have to stand back and say, hmm do we know everything about science? Every day she would wake up and think it was the day of the crash again, and expect the girls to be on their way home. Only Mrs Schuler's son, Bryan, survived. In essence, accident reconstruction is a branch of causation forensics that involves knowing how and why an accident happened. By Douglas Calhoun on 2 Jul 2020. "Diane Schuler died in the crash and the charges died with her," Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said. In early August investigators said Schuler had at least 10 drinks and had large quantities of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in her system before driving the wrong-way down the Taconic State Parkway. A shot is 1.5 oz. 4 of the people killed were children and 3 others were injured. Multiple witnesses on the Taconic Parkway describe Diane as staring straight ahead, with an intent and determined look on her face. Investigators later found out that Ms. Schuler was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana as she drove a minivan 1.7 miles in the wrong direction on the Taconic State Parkway. 'How could this person I trusted completely have done something so unthinkable that I couldn't - and still can't - wrap my head around it.'. There are 200 ml in a liquor store half pint which quads 6.763 oz. There are 375 ml in a liquor store pint which equals 12.6803 oz. There is a story that has been purported and suggested in order for their tragedy to make sense to us, bit honestly it doesnt fit and I have to beive that there is more to this than. Some members of the Bastardi family suggested that. State police who went to Mr. Schuler's home for a pre-arranged interview yesterday were rebuffed. In the aftermath, Diane Schuler was portrayed as a reckless drunk and a mother who cracked. In the crash, Schuler, her daughter, three nieces, and three men in the other car were killed. When you watch the doc on her and the accident you learn about her past and all the pieces fall into place. She said: 'We're back by 6:15am, which used to be great because then I could make breakfast for the girls and pack their lunch. Diane was the first pulled out of the car. Her husband eventually became a public safety officer for the Nassau County Police Department and earned $43,000 a year. Just a week ago, Jackie Hance, 40, of Floral Park, N.Y., announced that she was pregnant through in vitro fertilization and expecting in September. Her brother was concerned enough to call the police. No. The Schulers had borrowed the minivan from their in-laws, the Hances. July 13, 2011 12:40 pm. I would of like to see what her blood glucose was at the time of the accident to see if that was high. Michael Bastardi's father and brother were among the eight people killed on July 26 when Diane Schuler drove the wrong way for nearly 2 miles on the busy state parkway before slamming head-on into the Bastardi's SUV which was also carrying a family friend. Check out other articles for your guidance. Alcohol makes you do things you wouldnt normally do and especially if you are dealing with emotional pain. I can only share my courage, strength and hope for the next alcoholic. The accident made headlines, especially after it was revealed that a postmortem toxicology test She said: 'They can't imagine how I feel a couple of hours later when we get back home and there's no babysitter to pay. After almost 2 miles, Schuler slammed head-on into a Chevrolet Trailblazer causing a fiery crash. Fiona Roberts
The film profiles Diane Schuler, who caused the fatal car accident, through interviews with her family members and friends, and attempts to piece together . There was a broken vodka bottle discovered under a seat in the minivan. If you currently need some help identifying the cause of an accident that involves a question of liability, dont hesitate to get in touch with us directly through our website. If she was a kind loving and wonderful normal person, wouldnt you pull over if you couldnt see or get sick and call for help with all those kids in the car? My father taught me how important family is. But the very nature of the accident is that it always gets us caught unprepared. "Well, denial by Daniel Schuler, how he just,you know, just got to realize one thing here. Several readers have commented on my original blog post The Taconic Parkway Crash about the possibility that Diane Schuler experienced a rare medical complication called Auto Brewery Syndrome and that this condition may have led to her erratic behavior, elevated blood-alcohol level, and also account for her apparent lack of history of alcoholic behavior. So, lets take a look at the evidence for and against this theory and I welcome any further comments and thoughts regarding this sad case. And of course you think about it all the time, you can't help but think about it. If she was a closet alcoholic, we dont know how long prior to the car crash her drinking may have begun. You can rely on our technical knowledge and experience in reconstructing crashes and complete detailed diagrams of the accident site. On July 26 Diane Schuler left a New York campground with her two children and three nieces in her van. The facts do not lie. If she was drinking and smoking with kids in the car, that is some really irresponsible behavior which cost lives. If she did have some kind of stroke or something other going on she is probably not going to be thinking rationally like that. Thats a lot of assumptions. After driving 1.7 miles (2.7 km), Diane Schuler struck a 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer head-on at 85 mph. She was beautiful inside and out for those who had known her. For the relatives of those three guys in Chevy TrailBlazers, they could not believe that nobody in Ms. Schulers family had known about her drug or alcohol abuse. I also believe she drank before she tried to drive kids home. This was the last call as twenty-five minutes later, the fatal crash took her own life and seven others, including three people in the Chevy TrailBlazer. At the same time, her husband left in a gray pickup with their family dog. Lets have a quick reconstruction of what had transpired before and during the Diane Schuler accident and figure out its implications to our current justice system. It was his sister-in-law Jay Schuler who said it. Thank you for sharing your story and for these insights I agree that Diane was likely blitzed out of her mind and her behavior was not normal as a result. "I'll See You Again" tells the story of how Hance grappled with her overwhelming . Mr. Hance asked Ms. Schuler to stop and wait for him during the conversation, but she denied and kept driving, heading north, away from her home on Long Island. Their baby is due in the fall. A 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut was found in Schuler's wrecked Ford Windstar after the fiery July 26 smash-up, which killed her, her 2-year-old daughter, her three young nieces and three Yonkers men in the SUV she hit. Violent: Diane Schuler slammed headfirst into an oncoming SUV after speeding for more than two miles in the wrong direction down the Taconic Parkway in New York On the first anniversary of the. Diane Schuler's husband, Daniel Schuler, has repeatedly defended his wife, saying she was not a drinker and more likely suffered from some kind of medical condition that caused the crash. She said: 'I want to be excited, but I know how random life can be, and how unfair. Before the crash on the Taconic, Ms. Schuler had the last contact at 1:02 p.m. with her brother at his home. Anolik said he would ask the Westchester County District Attorney to convene a grand jury to force Daniel Schuler to answer questions under oath. Diane Schuler icantbelieveitsnonfiction Blog Posts April 28, 2020 5 Minutes On July 26, 2009, Diane Schuler packed up the campsite at Hunter Lake in Parksville, New York where her family had spent the weekend. The following photos are of the collision site only, and do not feature autopsy and cadaver photos. He defended his late wife and called for further investigation into other possible causes for the erratic driving. Diane appeared to be acting in a way that suggested she was preparing for the accident. The accident claimed the lives of four children, including her daughter and three nieces. Diane's niece died in the hospital . Many lawyers would recommend hiring these professionals to aid in accident cases involving complex issues or contested liability. There were no reports of domestic incidents at the house in the past few years. Had our Sunday deviated at any point, it could have been us in harms way or a witness to this horrifying scene. Did Diane Schuler Have Auto BrewerySyndrome? Mrs Hance said she is heartbroken that HBO has chosen to use those final words as the title for its documentary on the crash, due to be aired next Monday. Either way, this is a tragedy. Diane Schuler was a 36-year-old woman from New York. Ms. Schulers 5-year-old son, Bryan, was the only child to survive. In terms of driving record, Ms. Schuler had a clean one, and investigators even noted theres no reason to believe there were problems in the marriage. (LogOut/ The Unsolved UK Podcast Diane Schuler/Taconic Parkway, Unsolved 13th Apr 2019 1 Minute The following photos are of the collision site only, and do not feature autopsy and cadaver photos. Vodka is a common drink of choice for later-stage alcoholics as its scent is easier to mask and the alcohol concentration is higher than other beverages. ', She hasn't been able to cook since the crash, because she is still haunted by the memory of Alyson running into the kitchen, shouting 'Yummy, Mommy! King asked. I am going with the fact that she is a closet drinker. According to the documentary, the husband said that she may have had an abscess tooth which may be a reason why she was drinking to kill the pain. (LogOut/ Therefore, you should carefully evaluate the companys credentials that you want to work with. And if she didnt consciously do this horrible thing wveryone has accused her of that it may come to light for her son, at very least. It is possible Diane ate a carb-heavy meal at the McDonalds stop and we know she ordered an orange juice which is high in sugar. Toxicology reports later revealed that Diane Schuler, 36, had a blood alcohol level of .19 -- the equivalent of 10 shots of vodka -- and a high level of THC from smoking marijuana. Son of NY wrong way crash victim says driver's husband "had a role" in "murder.". I think its freaky that the people on the Taconic that saw her said she was stonefaced. The rest of the children and Diane died. Accidents would often result in legal disputes, especially when the victims are seeking claims. 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