8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway

[ElizaAvalon]

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/5-liers-killed-in-ny-parkway-crash-1.1328669?image=3

this clearly says thrown from the car........

Yes. Like I wrote above, they were reporting that at the beginning and as you can see, the date on that photo with the caption is July 26th - the day it happened.

Here is an interview with someone who apparently helped pull the kids out:

http://www.newsnidea.com/8234/taconic-crash-ny-police-probe-for-causes-of-wrong-way-crashes/

People were getting out to help, shouting, ‘We need help! We need help!’” Dedvukaj said. “Everybody said, ‘There are kids in the car.’”

He said he and others opened a door of the minivan and “there was a body in front of us.” He said they helped pull out the children they could see – two girls, who appeared to be dead, and a boy, who was kicking and screaming.

​

However, it is quite possible that some kids were thrown and some weren't. In this article: http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090802/NEWS01/908020353, it states:

When the minivan hit the TrailBlazer it bounced into the median and rolled halfway down a steep embankment and burst into flames. Several of the children were thrown from the van.
​

and

"The van caught on fire and all of a sudden everybody's like, 'Yo, there's kids in the car, there's kids in the car,' " Dedvukaj said. "We opened the door, there's a body right in front of us. I guess it was the driver. I mean, we opened the door, like eight or nine people just came, swarmed in, grabbed the children out."

​

 

[ElizaAvalon]

Just brainstorming the missing time and all I can come up with is the Palisades Mall (it has a carousel) or Woodbury Commons Outlets, which are not uncommon stops for people traveling her route. I do hope LE is asking questions around there, especially liquor stores.

However, I did read that she was supposed to have the nieces back by a certain time so hanging out at a mall just doesn't fit.

 

[RR0004]

Another wrong way driver on the Tappan Zee bridge. Not an impaired driver... elderly. It does make me wonder if the DOT should make some changes to exits and entrances. I've never been in the area but if I am I think I would avoid that road at all costs.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08102009/news/regionalnews/bridge_driver_terror_183816.htm

I heard about that also today. The bridge is clearly marked...I just went over it a few days ago. Strange thing, the woman knew she was going in the wrong direction. For the life of me, I can't figure out how she did it.

 

[oh_gal]

Found this article that mention Schuler's admission that his wife smoked pot:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08072009/news/regionalnews/smashup_dads_183413.htm

And from this article, note excerpt below :

http://gothamist.com/2009/08/07/taconic_crash_moms_family_continues.php

"Barbara did not allow the state police to question Danny Schuler. The state police did say that the nieces' father, Schuler's brother Warren Hance, did speak with them and was cooperative. In the mean time, Suffolk County Child Protective Services is investigating Danny Schuler, based on his admission that his wife smoked pot."

Thank you, Velouria

 

[arielilane]

It definitely would enlighten us all to hear more about what went on during the missing time frame. My thoughts are that she stopped at a park or somewhere where she could smoke and the kids were busy playing to care or notice. I have a hard time believing that she was smoking a joint while driving with the older children in the car. Her kids yes, but not with the older nieces; the smell alone… I do think that she (as others of stated) probably spiked her McDonald’s orange juice. In addition, it doesn’t matter what type of alcoholic beverage that you are drinking… others can smell it.

 

[arielilane]

I hope that LE is investigating this case with a fine tooth comb; it reeks. I hope the Bastardi family and Daniel Longo’s family do not let this go.

 

[Native New Yorker]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07262009/news/regionalnews/7_dead_in_taconic_crash_181489.htm

"The van was full of flames," a police source said. "The driver was screaming. She was on fire." "This is the toughest scene I've ever had to cover," said Chief Joe LaGrippo of the Hawthorne Fire Department, which was first on the scene.
LaGrippo said the driver and the five other occupants -- all kids -- were thrown from the minivan and lying on the ground, their bodies on fire.
"I had five kids burning up, and I had to make a decision," the chief told The Post. "I worked on one kid, giving her CPR and realized she was dead. I moved to three more and realized they were dead. But me and my crew were able to save the fifth kid.""

 

[PrayersForMaura]

I sure wish the media would get the facts straight.

Were the kids thrown from the car or not?

 

[PrayersForMaura]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07262009/news/regionalnews/7_dead_in_taconic_crash_181489.htm

"The van was full of flames," a police source said. "The driver was screaming. She was on fire." "This is the toughest scene I've ever had to cover," said Chief Joe LaGrippo of the Hawthorne Fire Department, which was first on the scene.
LaGrippo said the driver and the five other occupants -- all kids -- were thrown from the minivan and lying on the ground, their bodies on fire.
"I had five kids burning up, and I had to make a decision," the chief told The Post. "I worked on one kid, giving her CPR and realized she was dead. I moved to three more and realized they were dead. But me and my crew were able to save the fifth kid.""

Wait, the driver was screaming? She was on fire?
Was Diane still alive when rescue workers or witnesses got near the car?

 

[southcitymom]

I sure wish the media would get the facts straight.

Were the kids thrown from the car or not?

The thing is - a scene like that is absolute chaos and everyone has a different perspective and, with adrenaline flowing so heavily, things can even be confusing for the people at the site.

The media wants to get details out quickly and different reporters talk to different people - things emerge that may seem contradictory but it's really just because no reporter can talk to everyone who was involved in the initial response before filing a story. No reporter has the complete picture so we don't get it either.

LE will have the most complete information as they reconstruct the accident, but in a collision of this magnitude, a final report with all the details can take a while.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

Yes. Like I wrote above, they were reporting that at the beginning and as you can see, the date on that photo with the caption is July 26th - the day it happened.

Here is an interview with someone who apparently helped pull the kids out:

http://www.newsnidea.com/8234/taconic-crash-ny-police-probe-for-causes-of-wrong-way-crashes/

Wow, thanks for posting this. I missed this one.

So in the article, it reads one of the "children was dead and three others were near death."

Does that mean that three of the 4 that died were still alive and could've possibly been helped?

How did they die? From the impact? From injuries to the head or body? From the fire?

Did they release autopsies on the others.

God, how awful. I may not want to know

 

[southcitymom]

Wait, the driver was screaming? She was on fire?
Was Diane still alive when rescue workers or witnesses got near the car?

In one interview I watched earlier today, a first responder to the scene indicated that a woman was slumped out of the passenger side window and that she seemed like she was alive. I do not recall him saying she was on fire.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

The thing is - a scene like that is absolute chaos and everyone has a different perspective and, with adrenaline flowing so heavily, things can even be confusing for the people at the site.

The media wants to get details out quickly and different reporters talk to different people - things emerge that may seem contradictory but it's really just because no reporter can talk to everyone who was involved in the initial response before filing a story. No reporter has the complete picture so we don't get it either.

LE will have the most complete information as they reconstruct the accident, but in a collision of this magnitude, a final report with all the details can take a while.

Well, not trying to pick on you ...
But I was a reporter in my younger yeara and it's a reporter's job to get the facts. You can't always take one eye witnesses word.
i realize there are a lot of different people offering quotes, and everyone's version will vary based on what they've seen. But whether or not the kids got thrown from the car is a BIG deal and they shouldn't report on that unless they know for certain, I think. Just my opinion.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

In one interview I watched earlier today, a first responder to the scene indicated that a woman was slumped out of the passenger side window and that she seemed like she was alive. I do not recall him saying she was on fire.

Again, probably two different versions of the story -- or more

This article says the driver was screaming and "she" was on fire.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07262009...ash_181489.htm

I wonder what killed Diane? Sudden impact? Fire? Extensive injuries? Hopefully no one was decapitated or lost a limb. How horrifying if someone would see these people die in front of them... my word!

Did the three men who were hit all die instantly?
Wonder if anyone was alive long enough to say something?

This story makes me so sad

 

[southcitymom]

Wow, thanks for posting this. I missed this one.

So in the article, it reads one of the "children was dead and three others were near death."

Does that mean that three of the 4 that died were still alive and could've possibly been helped?

How did they die? From the impact? From injuries to the head or body? From the fire?

Did they release autopsies on the others.

God, how awful. I may not want to know

PFM - from the interviews I have watched or read, it doesn't sound like the children who died could have been helped. Except for the little boy, it sounds like the children died fairly shortly after people reached them and tried to help them. No one gave details of the girl children's injuries (the little boy - one man said his leg was broken and his chest looked like it had been crushed), but I gathered from what was said that they were extensive.

 

[RJA00]

PFM - from the interviews I have watched or read, it doesn't sound like the children who died could have been helped. Except for the little boy, it sounds like the children died fairly shortly after people reached them and tried to help them. No one gave details of the girl children's injuries (the little boy - one man said his leg was broken and his chest looked like it had been crushed), but I gathered from what was said that they were extensive.

I have probably a stupid question
I dont know much about drugs. i have never even tried pot
but, i have heard you can get a contact high if your in close contact with somebody,

would that show up in the kids system if she was smoking a joint in the car ?

 

[southcitymom]

Well, not trying to pick on you ...
But I was a reporter in my younger yeara and it's a reporter's job to get the facts. You can't always take one eye witnesses word.
i realize there are a lot of different people offering quotes, and everyone's version will vary based on what they've seen. But whether or not the kids got thrown from the car is a BIG deal and they shouldn't report on that unless they know for certain, I think. Just my opinion.

I was a reporter too and so was my Dad (he was one for much longer than I was)!

I think if they have a valid source speaking to them about the events, then it is okay for them to report on what they were told. I'm not sure if people who are reporting on events in "real time" always know what will and won;t be important, and I think most reporters do the very best they can to be accurate.

 

[southcitymom]

I have probably a stupid question
I dont know much about drugs. i have never even tried pot
but, i have heard you can get a contact high if your in close contact with somebody,

would that show up in the kids system if she was smoking a joint in the car ?

That's a great thought. I've known SO many people who - when they are caught with marijuana in their system on a drug test - say, "I didn't smoke it - I was just AROUND people who were smoking it!" But what I have been told by people on the other end of that test is that the odds of this being true are miniscule - so tiny, that no one ever buys that story.

Even if she did smoke a joint in the car with windows rolled up, I am hard-pressed to think any of the children would have it in their system. IMHO, there's no way in hell she smoked the joint in the car. This woman was hiding her addiction and some of those children were old enough to rat out something like a joint.

I think that when she started to feel so terrible from all that alcohol, she pulled over and smoked (in a bathroom or something) weed to try to take the edge off. But the weed kind of pushed her over the top and made her even more screwed up.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

I was a reporter too and so was my Dad (he was one for much longer than I was)!

I think if they have a valid source speaking to them about the events, then it is okay for them to report on what they were told. I'm not sure if people who are reporting on events in "real time" always know what will and won;t be important, and I think most reporters do the very best they can to be accurate.

Most reporters do do a good job. But most of the stuff written in the NY Post lacks AP style and is very "loose" ... calling people flat out "drunk" instead of "intoxicated" or "inebriated" and using "kids" instead of the word "children". Just little things like that -- to me -- show poor writing skills and sensationalism.
Story before facts is how some reporters write.
Get the big byline...worry about being correct later...

 

[southcitymom]

Most reporters do do a good job. But most of the stuff written in the NY Post lacks AP style and is very "loose" ... calling people flat out "drunk" instead of "intoxicated" or "inebriated" and using "kids" instead of the word "children". Just little things like that -- to me -- show poor writing skills and sensationalism.
Story before facts is how some reporters write.
Get the big byline...worry about being correct later...

Yeah - I think The Post can be a little more "sensational" than some other outlets, but the reality is that the "if it bleeds, it leads" attitude is prevalent among even the most "high-brow" reporters.