8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway

[southcitymom]

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.

This is a good question - the eating at McD's. I do recall an article stating that she seemed fine and normal at McD's. As for the not eating indicating an interest in getting blind drunk, I don't know - I don't think she wanted to be blind drunk. I think she wanted to get the kids home. Drinking was just what she did when she could regardless of what her responsibilities may have been.

 

[Native New Yorker]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/nyregion/07crash.html?ref=nyregion



"More details emerged about Ms. Schuler’s last phone contacts. The police have said that she placed one call at 1:02 p.m. to her brother, Warren Hance, the father of her three nieces, from the Westchester side of the Tappan Zee Bridge. (Her phone was later found near the toll plaza.) Mr. Hance told the police that she seemed disoriented and complained of vision trouble.
On Thursday, Mr. Barbara said there were actually four calls made to or from Ms. Schuler’s phone.
The State Police declined to comment on any aspect of the news conference, in which Mr. Barbara said that Mr. Schuler was cooperating with the police. But in a news release, the police said that investigators went to Mr. Schuler’s home on Thursday for a pre-arranged meeting, but after arriving, they were “not granted an interview” and Mr. Barbara offered “no useful information.”

 

[annkitty0630]

Again I would like to say, no one truly knows what happened that day and I believe the husband truly knows more than He is saying. Maybe he is behind this whole ordeal and was hoping his family (not unfamiliar in these days) would not have survived the crash? How about thinking another way instead of looking at her solely? She contacted her brother stating she was uncapable of driving 60 miles before she hit that ramp driving the wrong way???? Why did she not pull over??? I am perplexed by why a mother would continue to drive if she is not capable. Trust me I have lived with many drunks in my life and raised with many also and I am still hard pressed to not know why she did not realize why she was driving in the wrong direction??? I hope at some point we will all understand why such a tragedy really happens.... Take Care All... Ann

 

[AuburnJenn]

I've read a lot about this case and watched on NG tonight. This story baffles me. Either the family/friends are simply not telling the truth or are totally oblivious to the facts. Or the toxicology report is wrong.

I have to say I'm inclined to believe the toxicology report. I can't imagine any circumstance where it would be wrong.

Such a tragedy. Perhaps the mother was a "functioning alcoholic" where she drank a lot and was able to keep it to herself. Perhaps she stopped to buy the bottle of vodka and poured it in a cup, mug, something with a lid. The pot is the main thing I find to be weird. Booze is easy to find and buy; pot is not. Unless a family member or friend gave it to her, which seems much more likely to me.

If I were family members of the SUV she hit, I'd be beyond livid. I can understand their wanting to get the authorities involved. Someone knows what's going on here...I just don't know what it will take to get them to admit it.

 

[Elf8702]

It seems to me something affected her judgement that day, way beyond the usual course of things in her life. I think this because it has been stated that she had an unblemished driving record, and none of her family seems to have been aware that she had an alcohol problem (I'm assuming for the moment, that this is true). This says to me that, assuming she was an alcoholic, she must have had pretty good control over her drinking, and decent judgement, at least decent enough not to get any DWI's or act in a manner when intoxicated that would give away her *secret* drinking problem.

So what made this day different? There really COULD have been something physically wrong that, coupled with her drinking problem, led to such a tragedy. Maybe she was planning on having a couple of drinks of vodka on her way home, to relax her, and maybe to smoke a joint... Maybe this had been her *usual* practice, have a drink or two of vodka on the ride home from camp, maybe she had done that for a while on her drives home, had just a bit of vodka, enough to relax and make it home with the kids unscathed. But, if something was physically wrong with her that fateful day, it could have affected her judgement causing her to drink way more than she had ever planned on. The fact that she called her brother like she did makes me believe that this is a possibility. If she was just drunk and smoking pot, why would she call her brother?

Things that could have have affected her that come to mind are:

1) Some physical illness not easily detectable through standard autopsy tests.

2) Some kind of poisoning that doesn't show up on a regular tox screen.

3) Some kind of psychological "break" with reality. Could she have had some kind of mental breakdown?

It seems to me whatever happened that day, there is more to it than her just going on a binge that sunday morning. I really think they should do another autopsy, if there's any possibility of finding an answer, it should be done.

 

[bogeygal]

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.

ETA - alcohol effects people differently - this much in fours hours could definitely make a light drinker vomit, but honestly, it could also make a heavy drinker vomit. We just don't know enough about her habits.

I think you're correct southcitymom, in my post right after the presser, I had stated from my notes I took that I heard the husband say "drink", but now looking at the notes, he may have said "drunk". Sorry for any confusion, if I can find the video somewhere online, then I'll know what he actually said. I do know that one news article quotes the husband as saying she wasn't a "drinker". Either way, we know that the autopsy said she had equivalent to 10 drinks. Just wanted to clear that up with you guys.

 

[Vegas Bride]

If she was having dental problems, could she have been drinking/smoking more than normal to try and cover the pain? Also, could she have gotten ahold of some other kinds of medication that when mixed with alcohol makes a very strong combination?
I am not much of a drinker myself but once in a while will have a very small amount of wine, maybe 1/3rd of a glass, that is all I can handle without getting loopy, with all the medicines I take I just can not drink like most people could.

I would not be surprised if somewhere down the line we hear about how someone (family or friend) maybe gave her something to help with the pain. It happens quite often.

VB

 

[Elf8702]

I'm still wondering about what might have happened that day that might have contributed to the accident. Could she have possibly hit her head, and that caused some kind of mental impairment that made her lose her judgement? Would the autopsy have been able to detect a head injury that had occured several hours or a day before the crash? I imagine it probably would have, I know they looked for stroke, but I wonder how bad the damage from the accident was and whether that might interfere with the results.

 

[MrsG728]

Please excuse this if it has already been posted.
Interesting article on Yahoo news: A Disturbing Trend Among Women- DUI

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090807/ap_on_re_us/us_wrong_way_crash_women_drinkers

NEW YORK – It seemed too horrendous even to imagine. But the case of the mother who caused a deadly wrong-way crash while drunk and stoned is part of a disturbing trend: Women in the U.S. are drinking more, and drunken-driving arrests among women are rising rapidly while falling among men.
And some of those women, as in the New York case, are getting behind the wheel with kids in the back.
Men still drink more than women and are responsible for more drunken-driving cases. But the gap is narrowing, and among the reasons cited are that women are feeling greater pressures at work and home, they are driving more, and they are behaving more recklessly.


More at Link

 

[SuziQ]

Maybe because this is the first time he has ever dealt with this? I don't know... I wanted my sister to have a new autopsy and to see the toxicology results but never pursued it.
She died and I was going through enough grief. I wanted to know if it truly was asthma-related or if it was suicide since she drank and smoked and didn't take her meds, but maybe she did take her meds.

When someone in your family dies in such a manner -- whether is be suddenly and in their sleep like my 49-year old sister or tragically driving the wrong way on the road with an unusually high alcohol level in their bloodstream, killing 7 other people -- you just don't know how to react or how you would act in this situation... what you would say or do.
Maybe they don't have money or life insurance.
A funeral and coffin alone cost around $8,000 for one person with no insurance ...

We are not in their shoes, so obviously, we do not know what we would say, think, feel or do...
I feel the husband is getting unfairly scrutinized here...

I'm not sure the husband is getting unfairly scrutinized at all. I think all the questions posed are valid. LE has the same questions we have I'm sure. I believe LE said it all depended on who knew who what when. I think the families of the three men who died deserve to know at least that.

 

[SuziQ]

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?

My understanding, and someone correct me if I'm wrong. But along with the ten shots needed to get to a BAC of .19, she also had 6 grams of undigested alchohol in her stomach. If I have that right...wowza!

 

[Lexington]

This is a good question - the eating at McD's. I do recall an article stating that she seemed fine and normal at McD's. As for the not eating indicating an interest in getting blind drunk, I don't know - I don't think she wanted to be blind drunk. I think she wanted to get the kids home. Drinking was just what she did when she could regardless of what her responsibilities may have been.

I wish I could be as confident that all "she wanted to do was get the kids home". I have a lot of questions about what her intentions really were that day.

 

[SuziQ]

If she was having dental problems, could she have been drinking/smoking more than normal to try and cover the pain? Also, could she have gotten ahold of some other kinds of medication that when mixed with alcohol makes a very strong combination?
I am not much of a drinker myself but once in a while will have a very small amount of wine, maybe 1/3rd of a glass, that is all I can handle without getting loopy, with all the medicines I take I just can not drink like most people could.

I would not be surprised if somewhere down the line we hear about how someone (family or friend) maybe gave her something to help with the pain. It happens quite often.

VB

IMO, any other medication that showed up in the tox screen would have been released along with the BAC and THC levels. We haven't heard of anything else. Maybe there is more info on the tox screen we haven't heard about?

 

[southcitymom]

It seems to me something affected her judgement that day, way beyond the usual course of things in her life. I think this because it has been stated that she had an unblemished driving record, and none of her family seems to have been aware that she had an alcohol problem (I'm assuming for the moment, that this is true). This says to me that, assuming she was an alcoholic, she must have had pretty good control over her drinking, and decent judgement, at least decent enough not to get any DWI's or act in a manner when intoxicated that would give away her *secret* drinking problem.

So what made this day different? There really COULD have been something physically wrong that, coupled with her drinking problem, led to such a tragedy. Maybe she was planning on having a couple of drinks of vodka on her way home, to relax her, and maybe to smoke a joint... Maybe this had been her *usual* practice, have a drink or two of vodka on the ride home from camp, maybe she had done that for a while on her drives home, had just a bit of vodka, enough to relax and make it home with the kids unscathed. But, if something was physically wrong with her that fateful day, it could have affected her judgement causing her to drink way more than she had ever planned on. The fact that she called her brother like she did makes me believe that this is a possibility. If she was just drunk and smoking pot, why would she call her brother?

Things that could have have affected her that come to mind are:

1) Some physical illness not easily detectable through standard autopsy tests.

2) Some kind of poisoning that doesn't show up on a regular tox screen.

3) Some kind of psychological "break" with reality. Could she have had some kind of mental breakdown?

It seems to me whatever happened that day, there is more to it than her just going on a binge that sunday morning. I really think they should do another autopsy, if there's any possibility of finding an answer, it should be done.

This is closest to what I think might have happened. That said, another possibility is that she had her normal amount to drink (her BAC was NOT crazy high for an experienced drinker) and it hit her differently.

This happened to me a few times during my years of abusing substances. Sometimes X amount of drinks or pills or whatever would get me feeling just right and sometimes the exact same amount would have me throwing up, blacking out, feeling sick, miserable....

I agree that she called her brother because she was feeling very wrong for her (ie - she knew the way she usually felt when she drank and smoked in those amounts and this wasn't it).

Here's taking your thoughts a little further. She's in an inebriated state and feeling so ill that she pulls over and calls her brother because she doesn't know if she can keep driving. Her brother tells her to stay put and he'll come get her. She gets out of the car for fresh air and is struck with PANIC that if something is wrong with her and her brother finds her and takes her for medical helps, her gig is up - everyone is going to know she's been drinking. This thought freaks her out on every level. She's in full on panic.

So at this point, she gets back in the car and tries to make it home first - maybe this is why she yakes a circuitous route or leaves her cell phone - she's driven while drinking a thousand times and she's feeling a little better. But she is also increasingly filled with anxiety about her secret life being found out. The most important thing is not being found out.

She's drunk and high and sick and completely agitated that she is going to get caught - in this state and taking this bizarre route, she enters the Parkway the wrong way and is too distracted by her own fears and anxieties and otherwise impaired state that she doesn't notice until it's too late that she's going the wrong way.

I feel very strongly that her fear of discovery by the people closest to her played into this somehow.

 

[southcitymom]

I wish I could be as confident that all "she wanted to do was get the kids home". I have a lot of questions about what her intentions really were that day.

I think her intentions were to get the kids home and to not get caught in her double life. That second part was always part of her intentions - every minute of every day.

 

[southcitymom]

I wish I could be as confident that all "she wanted to do was get the kids home". I have a lot of questions about what her intentions really were that day.

Nothing I know so far leads me to believe this was an intentional murder/suicide, But that may well be a question that lingers for some people. None of us are going to fully be able to understand her mindset that day, though we can glimpse bits and pieces of it.

 

[ElizaAvalon]

I think her intentions were to get the kids home and to not get caught in her double life. That second part was always part of her intentions - every minute of every day.

Agree!

And I'm now thinking that alcohol was just a small part of her secret other life.

The cellphone records might reveal the truth. Perhaps the emotional breakdown had nothing to do with her husband at all. Maybe someone else?

 

[angelmom]

This is a good question - the eating at McD's. I do recall an article stating that she seemed fine and normal at McD's. As for the not eating indicating an interest in getting blind drunk, I don't know - I don't think she wanted to be blind drunk. I think she wanted to get the kids home. Drinking was just what she did when she could regardless of what her responsibilities may have been.

Also, let's not read too much into her being "normal" at the McDonalds. In my mind, all this means is that she was not stumbling, slurring, or causing a scene. Let's face it, this is McD's on the side of the highway; how abnormal would you have to be acting for them to notice? Would a fast food worker or another customer focused on getting to their destination really notice glassy eyes or a quieter (or more bubbly) demeanor of someone they have never even met? I doubt it. Especially someone so "not suspicious" as a mom in a minivan with 5 kids.

 

[southcitymom]

Also, let's not read too much into her being "normal" at the McDonalds. In my mind, all this means is that she was not stumbling, slurring, or causing a scene. Let's face it, this is McD's on the side of the highway; how abnormal would you have to be acting for them to notice? Would a fast food worker or another customer focused on getting to their destination really notice glassy eyes or a quieter (or more bubbly) demeanor of someone they have never even met? I doubt it. Especially someone so "not suspicious" as a mom in a minivan with 5 kids.

Absolutely - I agree. I was just trying to drive home the fact that she didn't seem obviously impaired at THAT point it time so I think it's fair to assume that she wasn't obviously impaired when she left the campsite.

Believe me when I say that, rightly or wrongly, being a minivan driving Mom with a gaggle of kids is a good natural cover for substance abuse.

 

[southcitymom]

Agree!

And I'm now thinking that alcohol was just a small part of her secret other life.

The cellphone records might reveal the truth. Perhaps the emotional breakdown had nothing to do with her husband at all. Maybe someone else?

I have thought about the cellphone thing too -perhaps meeting up with a clandestine lover, BUT, honestly - with five kids in a car, several of whom were definitely old enough to notice something as odd as Mom meeting someone else on this journey - I just don't see it.

It is MUCH easier to hide drinking and pot smoking in front of kids this age than to hide a hook-up. For obvious reasons, people assume that if you are sneaky enough to keep one BIG part of your life so well-hidden, that you must be doing and hiding other bad behaviors. When my husband found out about my using, his immediate next fear was that I had been having an affair - but that was something that had never even entered my mind.

DH's fear made sense, of course, and I understood it, but it wasn't based in reality.