8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway

[MaryLiz]

I think the husband said he never saw her "drunk" not "drink" - maybe a pina colada here or there - some herb - is what I recall "the family" saying.

You're right, SCM...he said he never saw her "drunk" not that he never saw her drink. Here's the link to one of the articles. He says it in the fourth paragraph down, first sentence.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/daniel-schuler-my-wife-was-not-a-drunk-1.1352394

 

[grace60]

I'm waiting for the cell phone records to come out. That will tell us where she was. They just said on NG it took her 4 hours to go 90 miles. Did she stop to meet someone along the way? Reb I had not heard they had no health insurance. That sounds odd considering the job the husband had. The Lawyer said she had a abscessed tooth and would not get it treated. Thats not normally that big of a deal. You get antibiotics and then get a root canal or have it extracted. I've had 2 in the last 10 years.

 

[sleepingheart]

I'm sorry if this point has already been posted, but has anyone brought up that you can't smell Vodka on a person. Isn't this what kind of bottle they found in the vehicle? I say this because when I first heard of this tragic happening, I wondered why no one she made contact with smelled alcohol on her that day, but since it was supposedly Vodka, that would be why. A lot of people that drink heavily don't act like they are "drunk" or "high" because they have a such a high tolerance; so combine that fact with the Vodka not producing a smell & it's quite possible no one noticed anything strange about her that day.

 

[SleuthyMama]

It's been my understanding that her brother called police after the phone call with her and also got in his own car to go look for her. The problem was that they were all looking for her on the wrong road. Police supposedly checked 40 miles of the Thruway looking for her as the brother was on his way up here. But she wasn't on the Thruway. Very shortly after she got off the phone with him she got off the Thruway and headed toward the Taconic.

Hope this helps clear some confusion.

 

[SleuthyMama]

I'm waiting for the cell phone records to come out. That will tell us where she was. They just said on NG it took her 4 hours to go 90 miles. Did she stop to meet someone along the way? Reb I had not heard they had no health insurance. That sounds odd considering the job the husband had. The Lawyer said she had a abscessed tooth and would not get it treated. Thats not normally that big of a deal. You get antibiotics and then get a root canal or have it extracted. I've had 2 in the last 10 years.

Can anyone tell me where they heard this? This would surprise me as well, if true. Between his job and hers I would think they would have some sort of health insurance. Especially since he works in the public sector.

 

[Kat]

You're right, SCM...he said he never saw her "drunk" not that he never saw her drink. Here's the link to one of the articles. He says it in the fourth paragraph down, first sentence.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/daniel-schuler-my-wife-was-not-a-drunk-1.1352394

More at that link too:

...He said his team ruled out stroke, heart attack, aneurysm and diabetic problems. Schuler's eyeball fluid, which police at first thought might have contained high blood sugar levels, actually contained alcohol, Hyland said.
The medical examiner said his pathologists did not mention to him anything about a tooth abscess that may have caused Schuler's health problems.

I've never heard of that before, the alcohol in the eyeball fluid.

 

[southcitymom]

More at that link too:



I've never heard of that before, the alcohol in the eyeball fluid.

Me neither, Kat!

In all honesty - and PFM has touched on this - SO much is heaped on a family when tragedy occurs....and the magnitude of this tragedy is huge. I personally do not think they have acted odd - I just don't see it. I understand we don't have all the answers, but I don't for a second think they all the answers. They will probably never have all the answers.

Their lives have been wiped out AND they are finding out this massive secret that no one knew was coming AND then all of the sudden they are getting accused all over the place.......I'd scurry for an attorney too....if only to get my bearings. I would want to talk to the police of course, but I would want to feel protected from all the people calling for my head on a platter.

I am glad the police continue to investigate and I hope everyone can get some sort of resolution. Unless it's erroneous, the toxicology report is the most important piece of evidence. This woman was seriously impaired and driving - it just doesn't take more than that to have something like this happen - we see that every day. And there is never good answer to the "Why?"

 

[Kat]

Off topic to the thread but I am posting it for anyone that is curious about the eyeball fluid/alcohol level (for reference in future cases):

http://www.environmentaldiseases.com/article-alcohol-toxicity.html

snipped from lengthy article:

...Post Mortem Vitreous Alcohol
Analysis of vitreous humour is useful to corroborate the post mortem blood alcohol and assist in assessing and extrapolating to anti-mortem intoxication from post mortem alcohol production. Vitreous alcohol can also serve as an alternative sample if a satisfactory post mortem blood sample is unavailable or contaminated. In most cases the specimen is easily obtained, and can be sampled without a full autopsy. Vitreous alcohol is also important, because studies have shown post mortem putrification does not contribute to the alcohol levels measured in the vitreous.

Several more paragraphs covering vitreous humor alcohol at link.

 

[daisy7]

I know there was a vodka bottle in the car, but was weed and a pipe also found?

 

[SleuthyMama]

Good question, daisy. Never heard a word about weed or pipe in the wreckage. Just the bottle.

 

[grace60]

I'm sorry if this point has already been posted, but has anyone brought up that you can't smell Vodka on a person. Isn't this what kind of bottle they found in the vehicle? I say this because when I first heard of this tragic happening, I wondered why no one she made contact with smelled alcohol on her that day, but since it was supposedly Vodka, that would be why. A lot of people that drink heavily don't act like they are "drunk" or "high" because they have a such a high tolerance; so combine that fact with the Vodka not producing a smell & it's quite possible no one noticed anything strange about her that day.

Vodka does not smell as much as other liquor. Because of that the flavored vodka is popular today. A little cinnamin in the vodka kills the smell and makes it tasty. Here is a link to a blog, it has no proof behind the words but this is pretty much how I feel about it also.
http://vodkafaq.blogspot.com/2007/12/vodka-and-smell.html
Everything I have read about this tragic story tells me she is guilty. But I also wonder....She was driving her brothers van
http://tinyurl.com/naop3o
Schuler, 36, was driving her brother's Ford minivan...... Would anyone else have left a bottle in the car? And if she had ailments and did not want to go to a Dr would she have tried herbal medicine that could have affected the tests? (not to be confused with the smokin kind). As I said the facts do not look good but in my heart I still want to hear she did not do this the way it looks. But I also believed in santa claus way to long also.

 

[annkitty0630]

I have read all the post and am amazed at the fact a woman would drive home with her 2 children and 3 nieces in that condition, however, I grew up with a father that put us in danger every time he drove. I still find this story kind of hokey/skeptical because he states and others state there was no smell of alcohol on her breath (which I know people lie, lie, lie). The hubby will cover and lie any knowledge simply due to the fact he is going to be fighting law suits BIG TIME over this tragedy and he will never admit knowledge of her drinking to cover his own butt!!!! 2nd autopsy would be a good thing and my question is why didn't the police ever mention prior to the tox reports that there was a broken vodka bottle found at the scene???? Take Care All, talk to you later... Ann :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

 

[southcitymom]

Good question, daisy. Never heard a word about weed or pipe in the wreckage. Just the bottle.

She could have just smoked a joint and tossed it.

 

[RR0004]

She could have just smoked a joint and tossed it.

Questions..the .19 alcohol level...would it read that high if she had been drinking in the early hours-let's say 1-3 am. The drink-6 grams I believe- in her stomach...could this have been ingested that morning at breakfast? The pot out today is supposedly wicked strong. She could have taken a couple of hits before her trip and still felt the effects of the drug as she was traveling, right?

 

[grace60]

She could have just smoked a joint and tossed it.

It can also be put in baked goods, brownies etc.

 

[Native New Yorker]

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2...she-had-drinking-problem/?partner=rss&emc=rss


"In an emotional moment at the news conference, Mr. Schuler broke down as he talked about his daughter, Erin, 2, who was killed in the collision, along with his three nieces, the daughters of Ms. Schuler’s brother Warren Hance."

snip

"Before the conference started, Mr. Barbara told reporters not to ask about marijuana use, noting that Mr. Schuler is a public safety officer, or else he would stop the briefing. Mr. Schuler had told the police that his wife drank socially and smoked pot occasionally."

 

[Lexington]

I heard the report that she had 6 grams of undigested alcohol in her stomach, but did not hear if there was undigested food in her stomach. I would like to know if she ate when she and the children stopped at McDonalds. It would indicate to me that if she did not eat, she was only interested in drinking and more likely to be an alcoholic and hell bent on getting blind drunk.

 

[daisy7]

She could have just smoked a joint and tossed it.

:doh: I never smoked joints only cuz I couldn't roll them

 

[southcitymom]

Questions..the .19 alcohol level...would it read that high if she had been drinking in the early hours-let's say 1-3 am. The drink-6 grams I believe- in her stomach...could this have been ingested that morning at breakfast? The pot out today is supposedly wicked strong. She could have taken a couple of hits before her trip and still felt the effects of the drug as she was traveling, right?

I think one of the questions certainly is - had she consumed alcohol and/or marijuana the night before? Still - and I am no expert of blood-alcohol content - while prior evening drinking could have tipped it up a bit maybe, I think the vast majority of such a steep reading was consumed in the hours leading up to it. I think that's the way those types of tests work.

 

[southcitymom]

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2...she-had-drinking-problem/?partner=rss&emc=rss


"In an emotional moment at the news conference, Mr. Schuler broke down as he talked about his daughter, Erin, 2, who was killed in the collision, along with his three nieces, the daughters of Ms. Schuler’s brother Warren Hance."

snip

"Before the conference started, Mr. Barbara told reporters not to ask about marijuana use, noting that Mr. Schuler is a public safety officer, or else he would stop the briefing. Mr. Schuler had told the police that his wife drank socially and smoked pot occasionally."

Yep, NYN - at the time of that press conference, the husband still didn't believe she could have even been a covert alcoholic. But I believe they have backed off of their request for another autopsy to determine potential physical reasons....all of this leads me to believe that the family is slowly coming to an understanding of what the blood alcohol levels really mean. Unless we know of a mental or psychological illness that forces an unsuspecting person to uncharacteristically down bunches of vodka and marijuana, this theory doesn't hold water.

The family said they have no idea where the vodka bottle came from so that means she had it in the car already and only she knew about it - or that she bought it on the trip home - I am doubting she bought it on the trip home because it was early and Sunday. I believe she had it on hand - and most people I know who keep big bottles of alcohol privately on hand in their automobiles are alcoholics.

As for the weed - I believe they may have all smoked a little weed on this camping trip and I wouldn't want to answer questions about that either, particularly if it could jeopardize my job. It's a shame that weed is illegal, but it is still illegal.

I think she took a stash of the weed - rolled a joint or two for the trip home.