8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway #2

[bogeygal]

I only said that because if she were indeed not a regular drinker, and she was seen driving angrily, it would seem that the drinking/angry driving were intentional, not the habitual actions of a seasoned drinker. The angry driving, weaving, honking, on the road just before she got on the Taconic, is what stands out for me.
IMO

Anything is possible at this point, NNY. We may never learn the truth of the events that led to the tragic day that Diane went behind the wheel of her minivan.

I am saying a prayer tonight for the unfortunate victims of whatever caused Diane to take so many lives into her own hands by drunk driving. May the victims rest in peace. :angel:

 

[Intermezzo]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...s_show_she_wasnt_alcoholic__though_she_w.html

snipped:

Diane Schuler's family:

Autopsy shows she wasn't alcoholic - though drunk, high during Taconic crash

snipped:

"It shows that Diane's liver and pancreas have no signs of alcoholic disease."

He said the autopsy found no erosion of her esophagus - another sign of long-term alcoholism.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...nt_alcoholic__though_she_w.html#ixzz0PbrjC3MI




Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...nt_alcoholic__though_she_w.html#ixzz0PbrBOnRf

Has Schuler and his lawyer backed away from saying it must have been a medical issue?

Alcoholic issue aside, Have they admitting publicly that the autopsy was correct, that she was drunk and high on the day of the crash?

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...nt_alcoholic__though_she_w.html#ixzz0PjnfMtOw

"The fact remains that Diane Schuler was drunk and high when she killed all these people and the facts aren't going to change," said Anolik

IMO that sums it up.

 

[southcitymom]

I only said that because if she were indeed not a regular drinker, and she was seen driving angrily, it would seem that the drinking/angry driving were intentional, not the habitual actions of a seasoned drinker. The angry driving, weaving, honking, on the road just before she got on the Taconic, is what stands out for me.
IMO

Gotcha. I can't get away from the fact that no one but a regular drinker could consume what she did and remain even somewhat functional.

 

[robinparten]

"The fact remains that Diane Schuler was drunk and high when she killed all these people and the facts aren't going to change," said Anolik

IMO that sums it up.

That does, indeed, say it all. Whether that was the very first time Diane had ever smoked and drank, or the thousandth time, is not the point. She made a choice to do it that day, while driving.

Honestly, almost everyone I know has been behind the wheel of a car when they shouldn't have, at some point in their life, although mostly I am thinking of when I was much younger. I am 45, back when I was 18-25, even if I had been pulled over, cops treated drinking and driving a lot differently then. I wonder how this would have been reported back in the 80s? Just as a tragic accident?

 

[southcitymom]

That does, indeed, say it all. Whether that was the very first time Diane had ever smoked and drank, or the thousandth time, is not the point. She made a choice to do it that day, while driving.

Honestly, almost everyone I know has been behind the wheel of a car when they shouldn't have, at some point in their life, although mostly I am thinking of when I was much younger. I am 45, back when I was 18-25, even if I had been pulled over, cops treated drinking and driving a lot differently then. I wonder how this would have been reported back in the 80s? Just as a tragic accident?

While society was even laxer about drinking and driving in the 80s, we're still lax. Most people who get popped driving drunk find it to be more of an inconvenience than anything else - some fines, some community service, a drunk class, maybe your license is restricted a bit, but there are no serious legal consequences for driving while impaired unless you have the bad fortune to hurt someone else. Then, we want to charge the drunk driver with murder - it makes no sense whatsoever.

If a drunk driver who kills someone else in an accident can be charged with murder, then every DUI should be charged with attempted murder, tried and sent to jail for an extended period of time. But I don't see that happening - we all like our booze too much and most of us know that if we drink and drive and get caught, we're not going to jail for more than a night.

So, our money is not where our mouth is on this one. We say it's bad to drink and drive, but the legal consequences rarely back that soundbite up.

ETA - whether this happened in the 1980s or today, it is still a tragic accident.

 

[JBean]

Gotcha. I can't get away from the fact that no one but a regular drinker could consume what she did and remain even somewhat functional.

As a rule,I am an occasional drinker ( 1-2 hard alcohol cocktails per month..maybe), but i do think I could have consumed that much and driven the wrong way on the freeway while being disoriented , slurring and ultimately crashing into another vehicle. I am fairly sure I could kill people and drive like that if I had 10 shots. i hope that doesn't sound sassy because it is not meant to be at all. I have had that much to drink while on vacation and was able to function until i passed out. i could not do as well if i drank mixed drinks but if I drank straight alcohol i would be able to maintain.
We also have to remember that pot mixed with alcohol intensifies the effects all the way around.
The clue I have that she is an alcoholic is not how much she had to drink at all. it is the fact that she drank that much under those circumstances.

 

[southcitymom]

As a rule,I am an occasional drinker ( 1-2 hard alcohol cocktails per month..maybe), but i do think I could have consumed that much and driven the wrong way on the freeway while being disoriented , slurring and ultimately crashing into another vehicle. I am fairly sure I could kill people and drive like that if I had 10 shots. i hope that doesn't sound sassy because it is not meant to be at all. I have had that much to drink while on vacation and was able to function until i passed out. i could not do as well if i drank mixed drinks but if I drank straight alcohol i would be able to maintain.
We also have to remember that pot mixed with alcohol intensifies the effects all the way around.
The clue I have that she is an alcoholic is not how much she had to drink at all. it is the fact that she drank that much under those circumstances.

I hear you, JBean - doesn't sound sassy at all and you know your tolerance better than anyone, of course. I do agree with you that at least as important as the amount (at least, important to my opinion that this woman was an alcoholic - I know that doesn't matter to some, but it matters to me) are the circumstances under which she drank it - on a Sunday morning, taking home a carful of kids.

 

[JBean]

While I admire your lobbying efforts, I'm afraid the world is not ready to accept your controversial "6 hour month" concept at this time.

damn it!

 

[Vegas Bride]

Just a heads up that Tuesday night the husband of the woman driving is going to be on Larry King, I imagine his lawyer will also be with him.

VB

 

[southcitymom]

Just a heads up that Tuesday night the husband of the woman driving is going to be on Larry King, I imagine his lawyer will also be with him.

VB

Yikes!

 

[cloudajo]

Just a heads up that Tuesday night the husband of the woman driving is going to be on Larry King, I imagine his lawyer will also be with him.

VB

Thanks for the heads up. On LKL website:

First One-on-One Interview!

Exclusive! The husband whose wife killed herself, their daughter, and three nieces in a "wrong-way" car crash -- allegedly while drunk and high! Why he is questioning the autopsy results!

Tonight, 9pm ET!

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/larry.king.live/

 

[southcitymom]

Thanks for the heads up. On LKL website:

First One-on-One Interview!

Exclusive! The husband whose wife killed herself, their daughter, and three nieces in a "wrong-way" car crash -- allegedly while drunk and high! Why he is questioning the autopsy results!

Tonight, 9pm ET!

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/larry.king.live/

I know I won't watch this, so please report in! Will they post the transcript somewhere?

 

[redheadedgal]

Just a heads up that Tuesday night the husband of the woman driving is going to be on Larry King.VB

ok - 8 minutes in and i have two comments/questions:

1) if the bottle of vodka was for the trailer from may to october, why was it in the vehicle in july?

2) last time i checked, one uses rum in a pina colada - not vodka.




scm, yes - transcripts are usually posted online a few hours after the first airing of the show (9pm EST). google "larry king live transcripts".

 

[redheadedgal]

barbara:

-believes crash caused by a TIA

-60% of americans believe DS didn't drink and drive (no mention of what poll/when LOL)

-larry calls him on the vodka for the pina colada and he says they used vodka for them (i've never heard of this EVER! anyone?)

-DS will be exhumed

 

[southcitymom]

I've known people to use vodka for Pina Coladas, though rum is most common of course. My sister's friend drinks vodka and diet coke, which I think is just weird, but different strokes, I guess.

 

[Angels_Not_Forgotten]

I don't drink rum so always use vodka in mine.

 

[Misfitdolly]

I know the tox screen shows otherwise but the way DS's family is adamantly denying that she was a drinker, noone interviewed has ever seen her drunk (neighbors, friends, co-workers and family), autopsy shows no signs of her being an alcoholic is all making me doubt it and wonder if there was some mistake, something missed. Maybe some unusual set of circumstances that caused her alcohol level to show so high. Maybe I just cannot fathom what the evidence shows, that a mother could do that with her children and nieces in the car.

 

[southcitymom]

I know the tox screen shows otherwise but the way DS's family is adamantly denying that she was a drinker, noone interviewed has ever seen her drunk (neighbors, friends, co-workers and family), autopsy shows no signs of her being an alcoholic is all making me doubt it and wonder if there was some mistake, something missed. Maybe some unusual set of circumstances that caused her alcohol level to show so high. Maybe I just cannot fathom what the evidence shows, that a mother could do that with her children and nieces in the car.

I have thought of this a number of times. Either the test was wrong or it was right. She should not have had ANY alcohol or marijuana in her system.
Only a retest could shed some light on that, but I am hard-pressed to believe her husband will do that - I guess we will have to wait and see.

 

[EZRA]

Hi everyone! I was just wondering if anyone has checked about the McD's and the possibility that something was put into her OJ. I mean possibly she could handle her alcohol and pot but if someone put something to mickey her drink that could possibly explain why it hit her so hard. I had this done to me when I was waitressing and at the time I could hold my own in regards to drinking. I had 2 beers that night and by the time I got to the halfway point of the second bottle I was dizzy, drowsy, I couldn't get focus on one object and I couldn't walk. And all that happened at the same time. I could usually drink 6-8 beers a night. We actually didn't know what happened to me and my husband to me to the ER. They ran some blood tests, etc. and found nothing then I told them I was working at a bar and someone bought me a beer and that was the only thing I did all night. They immediately pulled another vial of blood and tested it and found I had been given a "date rape" drug. It was just slipped into my drink. So my point here (sorry I'm getting to the point now!) the family is adamant she was not a big drinker and the police have gotten that story from at least 50 people. So my thought is maybe someone put something in her drink and it hit her hard combined with the alcohol and pot. Maybe I'm way off but I figured it was worth saying it.

 

[Lexington]

Hi everyone! I was just wondering if anyone has checked about the McD's and the possibility that something was put into her OJ. I mean possibly she could handle her alcohol and pot but if someone put something to mickey her drink that could possibly explain why it hit her so hard. I had this done to me when I was waitressing and at the time I could hold my own in regards to drinking. I had 2 beers that night and by the time I got to the halfway point of the second bottle I was dizzy, drowsy, I couldn't get focus on one object and I couldn't walk. And all that happened at the same time. I could usually drink 6-8 beers a night. We actually didn't know what happened to me and my husband to me to the ER. They ran some blood tests, etc. and found nothing then I told them I was working at a bar and someone bought me a beer and that was the only thing I did all night. They immediately pulled another vial of blood and tested it and found I had been given a "date rape" drug. It was just slipped into my drink. So my point here (sorry I'm getting to the point now!) the family is adamant she was not a big drinker and the police have gotten that story from at least 50 people. So my thought is maybe someone put something in her drink and it hit her hard combined with the alcohol and pot. Maybe I'm way off but I figured it was worth saying it.

Why would someone spike a woman's drink at 10:00 in the morning in McDonald's of all places, especially a woman with 5 children in tow? It makes no sense at all. She drank the vodka, she smoked the pot, that is what happened.