Posted on 08/04/2009 10:45:39 AM PDT by Red in Blue PA
The Long Island mom behind the wheel in a fiery wrong-way crash that killed her and seven others along a New York state highway was reportedly drunk and had high levels of marijuana in her system, authorities said Tuesday.
The findings were part of a toxicology report that was conducted on 36-year-old Diane Schuler in the wake of the deadly July 26 crash along the Taconic State Parkway in Briarcliff Manor, The Journal News of Westchester reported on its Web site.
The findings were shared with relatives of the crash victims, which included Schuler's 2-year-old daughter and three nieces.
Schuler was coming home to West Babylon from an upstate camping trip when she drove her Ford Windstar minivan against traffic for 1.7 miles along the northbound lane of the Taconic.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
If she was in a drunken rage....She should have just pulled over on the TZ bridge and jumped...
Right. But in this case the drunk driver is dead, so there’s no legal mechanism for a criminal prosecution. She can’t defend herself, so she can’t be charged with a crime posthumously.
Nobody would have cared if she jumped. She had to make sure that her death was spectacular.
justkate, please don’t get me wrong, quite frankly, as far as I’m concerned, if this imbecile had been simply whacked out on Nyquil and Benedryl, my opinion of her would be the same as it is now, regardless of the intoxicant.
That being said, I do think there needs to be a reliable test of use versus intoxication / impairment, much the same as there currently exists for alcohol.
You know that area - simply impossible.
My daughter totaled her car on that very road,( a few miles north of this incident, ) about a month ago. Her first comment when she heard the woman was going the wrong way would be in agreement with you and I.
True. But, it’s interesting that homicide charges have been filed despite her death.
Can a person be charged for knowingly allowing someone to drive in that condition when it results in those circumstances, I wonder? Even so, it would be tricky to prove, I guess.
Maybe it has something to do with civil suits that might be filed. I have no idea.
As useless as it is, I keep wishing those kids had gotten out of the car when she stopped and refused to get back inside until their dad showed up. I wonder why they didn’t. One of the children talked with her dad after the driver called her brother. Why call him instead of her husband?
It surely sounds like there had been something that happened before she left the campground.
Yes Chicago needs to give those ganstas shovel ready jobs. We know it worked in the 20’s.
He certainly can't be charging the dead driver with anything, but there may be legal reasons to list this as a homicide investigation.
Ok, thanks. That does make it clear. (Not your fault that I was so dense. lol.)
A bottle of Absolut vodka was recovered from Schuler’s car, police said.
Investigators said Schuler drank the equivalent of 10 drinks of vodka, although State police was not sure what time she began drinking.
State police also said Schuler smoked marijuana 15 minutes to an hour before the crash — meaning she was drunk and using drugs while with the kids.
It’s inconceivable that a sane mother could endanger the lives of her children and her brother’s children in that way, not to mention the lives of others. It’s inconceivable that her husband would allow her to leave with the children if she was drinking, smoking dope, or upset enough to trigger that type of behavior.
I know drunks endanger lives every day, but, something about this story seems to be missing. If my own sister or s-i-l had a history of this type of behavior, there is no way I would let my children get into a vehicle with her. If she were a family member, I would certainly do all in my power to see that she didn’t harm her own children.
It just boggles the mind.
One of those instances in life where I wish people had a chance for a do-over.
I know, and my heart just breaks for everyone involved. There are always “if onlies” after tragedies.
My guess is she was really upset that her husband was going on a fishing trip. She probably thought he was cheating.
I don't know how her family - her brother and sisterinlaw can cope with this devastation
I’m visiting NH and this story is big up here. There is definitely something fishy about it. Who drinks at 9 in the morning, and if it was a habit her husband and brother would surely have known it and not let her drive. Why wouldn’t you notice if you were going the wrong way on a highway? Wouldn’t all the people swerving and honking at you give you a clue? The kids must have been going crazy, it’s too bad one of them couldn’t have gotten control of the wheel. If she wanted to commit suicide, why would she also kill her kids and her brother’s daughters? It is a true tragedy and I feel incredibly sorry for the families of all those killed so senselessly.
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