8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway #2

[Nova]

While I understand there are "closet drinkers," I do not think Diane was one.

She had a very good job and was a mother who was a perfectionist. There were no signs at all.

Yes, I understand the toxicology report. But, I think something happened. What happened is a mystery.

My father worked 20-hour days, usually 7 days per week, running three successful companies which he had founded himself. He will tell you himself he was legally drunk most of the time.

I suspect you are correct that Diane didn't get up that morning and think, "I'll get hammered before I drive the kids home."

But the combination of alcohol still in her system from the night before (she had no way to measure) and vodka poured haphazardly into a large McD's o.j. cup (I doubt she used a shot glass), plus whatever marijuana she smoked impaired her judgment to the point she continued drinking far beyond what was wise.

Was she compensating for a hangover?
Maybe.

Was she dulling an aching tooth?
I don't know but I've had an abscessed tooth that hurt so badly I would have done almost anything for relief.

But at least THREE different tests (blood, urine, stomach contents) confirm that she was drunk beyond the legal limit. I don't understand how you can watch a 2-hour documentary and then simply ignore those three tests, particularly when her behavior is consistent with being drunk.

 

[Davereid]

If I remember correctly on the documentary her coworkers said she was drinking more after work as well.

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[JakeWestSide]

I don't understand how you can watch a 2-hour documentary and then simply ignore those three tests, particularly when her behavior is consistent with being drunk.

OK, the tests showed she was drunk. I just want to know what happened. Why did she get drunk that morning? Why did she drink so much liquor with a carload of kids?

She was smart and a perfectionist. She had to know drinking that much would have consequences.

I just want to know why: what happened?

This was a woman with no history of drunk driving. She had not one DUI.

 

[zippitydoda]

OK here's a question. The McDonald's employees were interviewed and they all said she did not appear drunk there. She argued with them and was confrontational, but was not drunk.

So she then had to drink AFTER McDonald's. She was seen pulling over trying to vomit AFTER McDonald's.

So something happened to then cause her to want to take drinks. She was not with Daniel in the same car.

So if something happened between them to make her want to drink, why wouldn't she have taken a drink BEFORE they went to McDonald's?

Was she getting all worked up over something that happened that morning at the campgrounds and then decided to drink after McDonald's to dull her feelings? And the liquor would not have made her want to vomit so quickly after consumption. Her nausea was more like a quick reaction to some ingested toxic substance.

By the way I appreciate the feedback... because my opinion is open to change if I read posts that make some good points. So thanks.

- Drunk people successfully order McDonalds food all the time... (I can attest to this myself (I was young once))

- DS drank a massive amount of alcohol that day as proven by two medical reports...one from the ME, and another from Daniel's own PI who sent DS's body fluids and other parts to their own lab for testing.

- At the time of the deadly crash DS caused, she had the equivalent of 10 shots of vodka in her system...she was seen earlier in the day by two groups of people pulled over and appearing to vomit, so who knows how much DS purposely drank that day.

- To suggest that the good folks working at Mcd's that morning became so enraged at DS's request for chicken nuggets (before their 11 am sell time) that they then spiked her food or drink with a mind-numbing toxic substance is more than a bit of a stretch for me, and I cannot consider it at all.

I love a good discussion, so can you relay why you cannot accept that a person could do what DS did that day? What is it? You seem (to me) to want to believe that a Mother could not purposely drink that much by choice because she knew she was driving children that day.

Sadly, all one has to do is read the thousands of threads here at WS to learn the indistupitable truth that some Mothers do infact commit horrible acts against their own children.

IMO, the facts are that DS did drink that much and knew she was driving children. Personally, I think she meant to take these children with her....and purposely drank that much to build up to actually doing it. I could believe that something set her off - some "issue" came up that day, or in the days leading up to it and she could not get past it and did the unthinkable. DS had a reason, the reason may never make sense to anyone other than DS, but it was enough of a reason to DS to allow her to do what she did that day.

p.s. glad you have power back - mine was out for six days, and I can say it was awful without it.

God Bless the people and animals effected by Hurricane Sandy.

 

[zippitydoda]

This was a woman with no history of drunk driving. She had not one DUI.

snipped by me...

I am in no way stating that DS had driven drunk prior to the day of the accident she caused, because I have no knowledge/facts of that. But would say that just because a person does not have a DUI, does not mean that this person has never drove under the influence or drunk.

 

[JakeWestSide]

- Personally, I think she meant to take these children with her....and purposely drank that much to build up to actually doing it.

Thinking she meant to take those children with her is as much of a stretch as me thinking she was "slipped a mickey" somewhere.

I realize mothers can do terrible things, but she never showed any signs of being an abusive parent. There is no history to substantiate that.

She was considered an excellent mother.

 

[zippitydoda]

Thinking she meant to take those children with her is as much of a stretch as me thinking she was "slipped a mickey" somewhere.

I realize mothers can do terrible things, but she never showed any signs of being an abusive parent. There is no history to substantiate that.

She was considered an excellent mother.

1). DS did take those children with her - she murdered them, along with three other innocent people - the only reason that she was not charged with murder was that she also killed herself, so the charges died with her.

2). Most people don't announce the horrible things they are about to do (a man in CA today was at work, he stops, takes out a gun, and then shoots 4 of his co-workers - 2 in the head killing them instantly, the other 2 are badly wounded - and then kills himself. Do you think anyone saw that coming?)

3). IMO, excellent Mothers don't drink (ten shots of vodka) and smoke a doobie while driving 5 children.

Question? Where did this "excellent" Mother get the pot? I'm thinking not in the happy meal. I suspect she had a source for it, i.e. drug dealer.

DS clearly had a history - but maybe those close to her didn't know it or they didn't want to know it for what ever reason. But, given the amount of pending lawsuits, I doubt anyone who may have known anything will talk about it now given the liabilty.

 

[Davereid]

I think perhaps the real question is true motive which we will never know. I mean the dumb lady who balanced her toddler on the wall above a dangerous zoo exhibit was probably not trying to get her child eaten alive by wild animals. Yet her poor judgement led to a terrible situation that is incomprehensible. We all can stand back and wonder what she was thinking but in my opinion it was a really bad decision.
However, where I believe Diane Schuler made a really bad decision; I still think she had issues. The most plausible explanation I think based on what we have hashed out on these boards are that she tied one on camping the night before. Woke up still legally drunk with a massive hangover. Was carrying around some mental baggage be it work stress, marriage stress or being a perfectionist stress. Any of these she dealt with the way a lot of people do with mind altering substances. She knew some alcohol might end the hangover which probably was exacerbated having 5 kids in the car. She thought she could handle a hit or two of weed and some shots to take the edge off and ended up really overdoing it with disastrous consequences. Was her intent to kill herself and all the kids? I do not think so but maybe she thought her bloodline was cursed or something and decided to try and wipe it out in one fell swoop. In the end I just think it was a really bad decision.

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[Skagirl]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I would guess that if she was hungover from the night before, trying to have a drink the next morning might not make her feel better. And if she didn't feel better from having a drink, she might've thought smoking pot would make her feel better, but that could also make her feel nauseous instead.

Another thought is that if she was hungover and tried to drink it away along with smoking pot, the combination probably made her very sleepy after awhile.

 

[Skagirl]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I would guess that if she was hungover from the night before, trying to have a drink the next morning might not make her feel better. And if she didn't feel better from having a drink, she might've thought smoking pot would make her feel better, but that could also make her feel nauseous instead.

Another thought is that if she was hungover and tried to drink it away along with smoking pot, the combination probably made her very sleepy after awhile.

 

[Skagirl]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I would guess that if she was hungover from the night before, trying to have a drink the next morning might not make her feel better. And if she didn't feel better from having a drink, she might've thought smoking pot would make her feel better, but that could also make her feel nauseous instead.

Another thought is that if she was hungover and tried to drink it away along with smoking pot, the combination probably made her very sleepy after awhile.

 

[Nova]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I would guess that if she was hungover from the night before, trying to have a drink the next morning might not make her feel better. And if she didn't feel better from having a drink, she might've thought smoking pot would make her feel better, but that could also make her feel nauseous instead.

Another thought is that if she was hungover and tried to drink it away along with smoking pot, the combination probably made her very sleepy after awhile.

When I've been hungover, the last thing I wanted was another drink.

But we have all sorts of stories about "the hair of the dog that bit ya", meaning that another drink or two takes the edge off the hangover. Maybe Diane's idea of a hangover cure was different from mine.

 

[Nova]

OK, the tests showed she was drunk. I just want to know what happened. Why did she get drunk that morning? Why did she drink so much liquor with a carload of kids?

She was smart and a perfectionist. She had to know drinking that much would have consequences.

I just want to know why: what happened?

This was a woman with no history of drunk driving. She had not one DUI.

I agree with you on that much, Jake. I would like to know why Diane drank so much over the two days of that weekend.

(BTW the autopsy says the teeth look fine, but an abscess wouldn't necessarily show without an x-ray. I don't know whether an autopsy includes that many x-rays.)

I suspect a lot of drunk drivers have no history of DUI, but it's certainly possible that Diane was drinking an unusual amount that morning.

 

[redheadedgal]

This was a woman with no history of drunk driving. She had not one DUI.

doesn't mean anything... many people drive under the influence and don't get caught...

this website includes the stat that: an average drunk driver will drive drunk 87 times !!! before being pulled over

(MADD and NHTSA, 2009)

http://dontdiedrunk.org/drunk-driving-stats/

 

[angelmom]

This was a woman with no history of drunk driving. She had not one DUI.

The two alcoholics I have close personal contact with freely admit that they used to drive drunk (for years). I know of one occasion where one of them woke up in a parking lot with no idea where he was or how he got there. One says he regularly drove drunk with people he loved, including his child, in the car. It's terrifying to listen to the confessions.

Neither of them had ever had a DUI or any other conflict with law enforcement.

Both had good jobs. One was a business owner who ran a multi-million dollar company. People were shocked when he went to rehab.

I'm glad you've apparently not ever had to deal with an alcoholic enough to learn these things firsthand. It's heartbreaking and tragic to watch them make horrific decisions even after they have resolved and tried to stop.

 

[Linda7NJ]

While I understand there are "closet drinkers," I do not think Diane was one.

She had a very good job and was a mother who was a perfectionist. There were no signs at all.

Yes, I understand the toxicology report. But, I think something happened. What happened is a mystery.

Functioning alcoholics are just that. Are you assuming alcoholics can't hold a good job? Can't be perfectionists? Cant be smart people? What tell tale signs are you referring to?




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[Fairy1]

OK, the tests showed she was drunk. I just want to know what happened. Why did she get drunk that morning? Why did she drink so much liquor with a carload of kids?

She was smart and a perfectionist. She had to know drinking that much would have consequences.

I just want to know why: what happened?

This was a woman with no history of drunk driving. She had not one DUI.

I don't believe we'll ever know the "why?" That's what makes this tragedy so frustrating. The only person who could have answered that question died that day.

 

[sharkeyes]

I don't believe we'll ever know the "why?" That's what makes this tragedy so frustrating. The only person who could have answered that question died that day.

Agreed.

FWIW, a week or so back I was watching a talk show where the topic was a young lady who faked a pregnancy...what does that have to do with Diane Schuler?....nothing really, but, as I watched and listened to this young woman, I kept thinking she reminded me of someone - her responses to the questions as well as her unwavering declaration of having been pregnant even in the face of overwhelming proof that she was not and had never been pregnant seemed somehow familiar; and then it hit me - she reminded me of Daniel Schuler, the way he responded "that's not true" and "she didn't drink...no, no, it had to be a stroke..etc." and his blatant refusal to accept or acknowledge verifiable evidence of Diane's BAL as well as her behavior described by witnesses on the Taconic reinforced my gut feeling about him knowing the "why" in all of this....he knows. :twocents:

 

[nervous_nellie]

perfectionism-- this keeps being mentioned as tho its a good thing. imo, in many instances it is not and if carried too far its a form of self-abuse....
i have absolutely no idea what diane could have possibly been thinking that morning. what i can tell you though is that during my days of drinking and smoking pot, if i did the two together it caused me to vomit and pass out....so, i really dont think this story is all that mysterious. she had bad coping mechanisms...she made bad choices that day and many innocent children and adults died because of it. i dont care why she did it because there is no reason that could ever be good enough to excuse what she did, ever. never.

 

[rpd113]

The other fact we know about Diane, from her friends in the film, is she was a very aggressive driver. Honking the horn, tailgating, yelling at her friends who were behind the wheel for not driving that way, etc.

Which is how she was driving for part of that fateful day, according to witnesses -- and we saw her peel out of the gas station dangerously. So the events of that day weren't completely out of character for her.