8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway #2

[IWannaKnow]

I hear you, Blondie. I think you and I just have fundamentally different interpretations of what happened. I've yet to see any indication that she was filled with anger and resentment. I don't consider this case to be a murder-suicide. I do believe that this woman's substance abuse issues were more progressed than those closest to her realized.

You are right, of course, that many lives were lost as a result of her choice to drink and smoke that morning. Heartbreaking.

Pardon me for inserting myself into other's conversation, but this article was buried in the other link Nozme posted on the previous page. I think it should be more prominent, so I'm gonna link it here:

http://nymag.com/news/features/62043/

'I Dream of Diane
What do you do with the grief and guilt when your wife drives the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway with a van full of kids and a body full of alcohol, and ends up in a crash that kills eight? You put her in a shrine."
***************************************************

This was the article that convinced me of the murder/suicide theory. I just think she had had it, and couldn't face the idea of divorcing Danny, after all she hadn't spoken to her mother for years for the same reason. Check it out...I also think the substance abuse was to cover up her unhappy marriage - MOO.

 

[tezi]

Pardon me for inserting myself into other's conversation, but this article was buried in the other link Nozme posted on the previous page. I think it should be more prominent, so I'm gonna link it here:

http://nymag.com/news/features/62043/

'I Dream of Diane
What do you do with the grief and guilt when your wife drives the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway with a van full of kids and a body full of alcohol, and ends up in a crash that kills eight? You put her in a shrine."
***************************************************

This was the article that convinced me of the murder/suicide theory. I just think she had had it, and couldn't face the idea of divorcing Danny, after all she hadn't spoken to her mother for years for the same reason. Check it out...I also think the substance abuse was to cover up her unhappy marriage - MOO.

That article convinced me that Diane was in fact very unhappy. Danny left her to take care of everything, it seems. I think she was depressed, had a substance abuse problem, and finally fed up with her lot in life, and that is why she did what she did. Not that it excuses her killing seven other innocent people though.

 

[twinkiesmom]

I just don't see how pursuing it any further will help. It's not going to bring back those who were killed that day and I just feel those left behind have suffered enough. What amount of money would be enough to let it go?

I think you would feel differently if you lost the breadwinner in your family in a crime like this.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Iwannaknow....thanks for the link - I had read that earlier and it is really quite insightful.
I had totally forgotten how Danny had tried to positively "spin" their marriage to the media via this article. "Their marriage was like a storybook. They fit together perfectly. They always wanted the same things. She was a saint." BS BS BS (IMO) I had also forgotten that Diane had not attempted to brake in the final moments before the crash. That to me is very telling.

I'm glad you joined the convo...I apologize if it looked like I was hijacking the thread - I truly wasn't trying to at all!)

 

[IWannaKnow]

Iwannaknow....thanks for the link - I had read that earlier and it is really quite insightful.
I had totally forgotten how Danny had tried to positively "spin" their marriage to the media via this article. "Their marriage was like a storybook. They fit together perfectly. They always wanted the same things. She was a saint." BS BS BS (IMO) I had also forgotten that Diane had not attempted to brake in the final moments before the crash. That to me is very telling.

I'm glad you joined the convo...I apologize if it looked like I was hijacking the thread - I truly wasn't trying to at all!)

No worries Blondie! I think I was the one who butted in. Yes, that article is hard to discount, especially since a great deal of it is in Danny's own words. I do think she was fed up, completely, and didn't see another way out of the situation. Sad, that she felt that killing herself and eight other people was preferrable to a divorce.

From that article:
"And she could be secretive. When Diane was 9, her mother abandoned the family; her father raised four kids. “The divorce was off-limits,” says Jay. (Some friends assumed her mother was dead.) Diane refused to speak to her mother. “I made many efforts,” her mother, Eileen, tells me. “Her dad would’ve liked it to work out. It was Diane’s choice. We could have had a relationship. I never stopped loving her.” But Diane was hardheaded and unforgiving. “It’s not the Diane that anybody knows,” says her mother, who stayed in contact with Diane’s three brothers. “I guess she couldn’t get over her hurt.”

Maybe she felt that killing herself and the children was the only thing that would have any impact on her spouse, but I think she couldn't bring herself to do what she had punished her mother for all those years....sad, all the way around. He even claimed she never honked her horn!! How would you like to live with someone like that? I bet their fights never went anywhere....except fighting. :snooty:

 

[IWannaKnow]

That article convinced me that Diane was in fact very unhappy. Danny left her to take care of everything, it seems. I think she was depressed, had a substance abuse problem, and finally fed up with her lot in life, and that is why she did what she did. Not that it excuses her killing seven other innocent people though.

Agreed!! Maybe she should have just directed her anger where it belonged?? I also think one of those phone calls was the ultimate straw that broke the camels back. I think she was pi**ed leaving the campground, but developed her plan on the route home...wasn't one of the calls from the sister-in-law about a dance recital? Maybe Diane felt everyone relied on her too much... :twocents:

 

[joeskidbeck]

No worries Blondie! I think I was the one who butted in. Yes, that article is hard to discount, especially since a great deal of it is in Danny's own words. I do think she was fed up, completely, and didn't see another way out of the situation. Sad, that she felt that killing herself and eight other people was preferrable to a divorce.

From that article:
"And she could be secretive. When Diane was 9, her mother abandoned the family; her father raised four kids. “The divorce was off-limits,” says Jay. (Some friends assumed her mother was dead.) Diane refused to speak to her mother. “I made many efforts,” her mother, Eileen, tells me. “Her dad would’ve liked it to work out. It was Diane’s choice. We could have had a relationship. I never stopped loving her.” But Diane was hardheaded and unforgiving. “It’s not the Diane that anybody knows,” says her mother, who stayed in contact with Diane’s three brothers. “I guess she couldn’t get over her hurt.”

Maybe she felt that killing herself and the children was the only thing that would have any impact on her spouse, but I think she couldn't bring herself to do what she had punished her mother for all those years....sad, all the way around. He even claimed she never honked her horn!! How would you like to live with someone like that? I bet their fights never went anywhere....except fighting. :snooty:

BBM

I think you are correct on this IWK. My sister was married for 24 years to a man that absolutely would not argue or show concern about anything! She told me once that she believed she could douse herself in gasoline and strike the match and he would not even acknowledge that she was on fire. It's hard to believe that such people exist unless you have known one personally. They are willing to let their spouse totally control every aspect of their life. I am in no way taking any of the blame for this horrendous accident away from Diane because it is 100% her fault but this woman had serious issues and felt alcohol was her ONLY friend. Her reality was too much for her to bear and so she changed it the only way she knew how, by drowning it in alcohol. I think if the truth were known there are others in her family that are alcoholics or drug addicts. I also believe that something happened that weekend that made her realize that nothing was ever going to change. This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard on so many levels.

 

[IWannaKnow]

I think you are correct on this IWK. My sister was married for 24 years to a man that absolutely would not argue or show concern about anything! She told me once that she believed she could douse herself in gasoline and strike the match and he would not even acknowledge that she was on fire. It's hard to believe that such people exist unless you have known one personally. They are willing to let their spouse totally control every aspect of their life. I am in no way taking any of the blame for this horrendous accident away from Diane because it is 100% her fault but this woman had serious issues and felt alcohol was her ONLY friend. Her reality was too much for her to bear and so she changed it the only way she knew how, by drowning it in alcohol. I think if the truth were known there are others in her family that are alcoholics or drug addicts. I also believe that something happened that weekend that made her realize that nothing was ever going to change. This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard on so many levels.

BBM - I think that happened on Saturday. And she didn't sleep that night, IIRC, although they said she suffered from insomnia regularly....it seems to me from the accounts, that this started early Sunday morning, not mid-morning. If you had been up all night Saturday night thinking/stewing about it, get up Sunday and find your beloved hubby is going to ditch you again with all the children and drive straight home with his dog AFTER his duty free 4 day weekend.....what would you do? If you were the type who "never complained" you might decide something more permenant was necessary. It is the nieces that really baffle me...she must have been some kinda pi**ed to enact this plan with the nieces in the car.

I totally agree with everything you say, joeskidbeck. I think she got married and thought she could be like Harriet - everything would be wonderful and fabulous (unlike her childhood) and they would live happily ever after - but instead of Ozzy, she got the introverted woodsy-type who wouldn't say boo to a mouse. He does admit that she wanted him to be at home with her, "but it was my job" - so he knows she wasn't happy, even if he cannot admit it. The type that Danny is, IMO, doesn't rock the boat. If something is wrong, they sweep it under the rug rather than address it - just make it go away!! Complete opposite of Diane, if the news articles are to be believed. And when you have a couple whose major conversations were about painting the house or cleaning the gutters.....what would he know about her motivations??? He didn't want to know her motivations....IMO. He just wanted to be taken care of. I also think that it would be nearly impossible for a perfectionist like Diane to admit to all the problems in her marriage and if the answers were not located in the woods, Danny had no hope of finding them - all things which would be required to fix the Schuler marriage and avert this tragedy.....:twocents:

 

[Fairy1]

BBM - I think that happened on Saturday. And she didn't sleep that night, IIRC, although they said she suffered from insomnia regularly....it seems to me from the accounts, that this started early Sunday morning, not mid-morning. If you had been up all night Saturday night thinking/stewing about it, get up Sunday and find your beloved hubby is going to ditch you again with all the children and drive straight home with his dog AFTER his duty free 4 day weekend.....what would you do? If you were the type who "never complained" you might decide something more permenant was necessary. It is the nieces that really baffle me...she must have been some kinda pi**ed to enact this plan with the nieces in the car.

Yes, the nieces. Why wouldn't she wait until they were safe with their parents? This is the one point that really has me wondering, why then?

I totally agree with everything you say, joeskidbeck. I think she got married and thought she could be like Harriet - everything would be wonderful and fabulous (unlike her childhood) and they would live happily ever after - but instead of Ozzy, she got the introverted woodsy-type who wouldn't say boo to a mouse. He does admit that she wanted him to be at home with her, "but it was my job" - so he knows she wasn't happy, even if he cannot admit it. The type that Danny is, IMO, doesn't rock the boat. If something is wrong, they sweep it under the rug rather than address it - just make it go away!! Complete opposite of Diane, if the news articles are to be believed. And when you have a couple whose major conversations were about painting the house or cleaning the gutters.....what would he know about her motivations??? He didn't want to know her motivations....IMO. He just wanted to be taken care of. I also think that it would be nearly impossible for a perfectionist like Diane to admit to all the problems in her marriage and if the answers were not located in the woods, Danny had no hope of finding them - all things which would be required to fix the Schuler marriage and avert this tragedy.....:twocents:

So, Danny was - and is - in complete denial. How does that make him complicit in what occurred that day? That's what I don't understand. If he's just a big dunce who thought his wife and marriage were perfect, how can he be held accountable for what Diane did that day? Whatever the reasons.

 

[Fairy1]

I think you would feel differently if you lost the breadwinner in your family in a crime like this.

No, I wouldn't.

One of the major problems with our society today is laying blame on others. If what Diane did, that day, was intentional, it was HER decision. Whatever led her to that decision, IMO, is inconsequential.

 

[joeskidbeck]

A normal person would not have done this horrendous thing with her nieces in the car but I don't think she was thinking anywhere near normal that day. Also, does anyone else think that she may have been upset with her brother and his wife? I think a lot was said in the phone call that just added to her already overloaded state of mind and she may have decided to make everyone pay. I don't know if Diane actually did intend for the accident to happen and I do believe others knew about her alcohol problem, but from what we have read she was able to function while intoxicated, so why, on this day did she kill so many people?

 

[joeskidbeck]

I need to say one more thing. I really don't believe that holding her husband responsible for the accident will help anyone involved. No matter how oblivious he was to the problems in his marriage, I don't think he would have let Diane drive with all those children in her car if he thought for one minute she was unable to function. I'm sure the other families want someone to pay and pay dearly, but do they not understand the magnitude of this man's loss?? His wife, daughter, and three nieces are gone and no matter what he says in public, I don't think he has one moment of peace. My heart goes out to everyone involved and I truly hope they can all find some measure of comfort.

 

[IWannaKnow]

Yes, the nieces. Why wouldn't she wait until they were safe with their parents? This is the one point that really has me wondering, why then?

I don't know Fairy. That part really does not compute for me, except for what joeskidbeck said, about:

Also, does anyone else think that she may have been upset with her brother and his wife? I think a lot was said in the phone call that just added to her already overloaded state of mind and she may have decided to make everyone pay. - yes, I do- but don't hold me to that. The phone calls started after she was seen on the side of the road heaving IIRC....so I have no proof, just my feelings..

That, and she was done that day I think. Finished with all of it and simply didn't care anymore about anything. I think she snapped and may not have realized further into the morning exactly who was in the car and who wasn't.....if that makes any sense at all. I do not believe she was logical or rational at that point, things which would have been required to stop the plan she enacted. IMO....

So, Danny was - and is - in complete denial. How does that make him complicit in what occurred that day? That's what I don't understand. If he's just a big dunce who thought his wife and marriage were perfect, how can he be held accountable for what Diane did that day? Whatever the reasons.

I don't believe I have implied in any of my posts that Danny is or was complicit in the accident. I don't see how any rational person could think that he was. He wasn't anywhere near there - which was part of the problem I believe - in fact, he had no idea anything was going on -SSDD. I haven't read a single post that implied, directly or indirectly, that Danny was complicit. My point is only that I believe he was the motive for the crime. Apples and oranges. That has been my interest in this crime from day 1 - WHY?? These posts are simply my search for that answer. :angel:

com·plic·it -
choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, esp. with others; having complicity.

I don't think Danny chose to be involved in anything, he was carried along by the tide, in all things. He was clueless, as usual. Therefore he cannot be complicit....the last thing he wanted was to lose his nice, cushy life......this simply happened around him, while he wasn't paying attention. IMHO.

 

[AlwaysShocked]

"I'm sure the other families want someone to pay and pay dearly, but do they not understand the magnitude of this man's loss??"

Yes, I would think they do. But what does that have to do with the magnitude of THEIR loss?

Surely, most all of us here would want to know WHY our loved one was killed in such a senseless incident as this.

It is not the estate of Diane that is being sued, not the husband?

I DO believe it was murder/suicide. And I DO believe there was something WAY wrong with Diane for some time prior to the crash. Like, 60 miles worth of time prior to the crash. She was driving on the righthand BERM, passing cars? She was tailgating and flashing her lights at people?

A broken vodka bottle was found in the footwell of the passenger side of the wrecked vehicle. Her blood alcohol was twice the legal limit. Per the autopsy, there was undigested alcohol in her stomach at the time of death. There was alcohol in the vitreous humor in her eye. What more do you need?

My feeling is that something her brother said to her pissed her off. As in "Damn it, Diane, you sound like you've been drinking. You better stay right where you are!Stay put and I will come and get you. And, Diane, we are going to talk about this and what's beeen going on with you lately. I think you need help, sister! Now, just stay there and I'll come and get you all." I think the brother is feeling a tremendous amount of self guilt for the way he handled what was said and what he learned during those conversations.

 

[tapu]

While I understand the need of the families to know exactly what happened, I think at this point they're just torturing themselves and everyone Diane left behind. I'd think that they have considered all the scenarios and details that we have, and then some. What outside of that could really, possibly, have happened? And I would guess that not one of the explanations has made or would make them feel any better. It's time for some intensive counseling and for some time to heal.

jmo

 

[Fairy1]

A normal person would not have done this horrendous thing with her nieces in the car but I don't think she was thinking anywhere near normal that day. Also, does anyone else think that she may have been upset with her brother and his wife? I think a lot was said in the phone call that just added to her already overloaded state of mind and she may have decided to make everyone pay. I don't know if Diane actually did intend for the accident to happen and I do believe others knew about her alcohol problem, but from what we have read she was able to function while intoxicated, so why, on this day did she kill so many people?

She may have been upset with them. But I just find it impossible to believe that, had they the slightest clue she had an existing alcohol problem, they would ever have let their precious daughters in the car with her.

 

[twinkiesmom]

No, I wouldn't.

One of the major problems with our society today is laying blame on others. If what Diane did, that day, was intentional, it was HER decision. Whatever led her to that decision, IMO, is inconsequential.

Sorry, but the owner of the car IS responsible in civil court. Both her brother and her husband are critical witnesses to the case.

The three innocent victims in the struck car are not inconsequential, and the suffering of Diane's relatives does not trump that of the people she hit.

A day (or week) in court is not too much to ask for so many dead.

 

[SleuthyMama]

Today is the one year anniversary of this crash.

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/...--Taconic-wrong-way-crash-answers-are-elusive

In ther above article there are some interesting details I had not heard previously, like Daniel not arriving at the campground on Thursday as he originally told detectives and that Diane’s cellphone had a 9 HOUR conversation with someone the night before the crash.
Yes, I did write nine hours. Strange, right?

Another article on today’s tragic anniversary: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100726/NEWS/7260327

This story just haunts me on so many levels.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Nine hours???? WTH??? Okay...now I have to go read at the links (but that sure sounds like there's much more to this story).

 

[Hopeful One]

This story still haunts me. It's so tragic. I think of it every once in awhile, wondering how a mother could possibly get in the car to drive her children somewhere after she had been drinking (or drinking while she was driving - however it happened). It shocks me on so many levels. As parents, we're supposed to protect our children, not endanger them.

May they all rest in peace.