8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway

[cloudajo]

Just Speculation: I think perhaps that when Diane pulled over near the parking area south of the Tappan Zee Bridge, she got out of the minivan for some reason. I think it's possible that her niece Emma (not Diane) made the 12:58pm call from Diane's cell phone to her father (Warren) because she was scared. And that when Diane came back to the minivan, Emma hung up. Warren called right back, Diane answered and they spoke for 8 min, with Warren telling her to stay put. And then Diane put/left her cell phone on the concrete barrier and drove off.

 

[cloudajo]

Here's a timeline I put together from what I've read so far (sorry for the length). Comments/corrections?

Timeline

Sunday, July 26, 2009
9:30am:

· Diane, her 2 kids and 3 nieces leave the campground in Parksville, NY, in Diane’s brother’s minivan. They are headed to Floral Park, NY (home of her brother and nieces, about 2 hours or 2 hrs 40 min with traffic) and then on to West Babylon, NY (Diane and Daniel’s home, about 35 min east of Floral Park).
· Diane’s nieces had to be home in time for a scheduled performance rehearsal they were taking part in.
· Diane’s husband leaves campground separately in pickup with the family dog and either goes fishing or drives directly home. (Two different accounts reported. State police Investigator James Boyle told Newsday that Daniel was headed for a fishing trip in another part of Sullivan County and was out of cell phone range.)
​

10:30-10:45am:

Diane and kids leave a McDonalds located off Route 17 in Liberty, NY. (Liberty is less than 10 min from Parksville.) She then headed southeast on Route 17 and the Thruway, where police said a woman fitting her description was spotted driving aggressively by multiple witnesses. She wove in and out of traffic, straddled two lanes, tailgated, flashed her lights, honked her horn and used the shoulder to pass other cars. At the Thruway's Ramapo service area, a minivan fitting that description veered across a grassy divider.
​

Time?:

· Police confirmed Diane called or spoke to her husband Daniel before the call from her phone was placed to her brother.
· (One article: Police are awaiting permission or subpoenas that will allow them to examine her cell phone to determine who else she spoke with before the crash. They confirmed yesterday that she spoke with her husband, Daniel, by phone before calling her brother on Long Island. Another article: She at one point called her husband, Daniel, although it was unclear whether she reached him. He had left a Sullivan County campground at the same time as the rest of his family but stayed upstate to go fishing and may have been out of cell phone range.
​

11:37am:

Call from Diane’s cell phone was made to Warren Hance, her brother, and the father of the three nieces in the car. It is reported that Diane told Warren she was in traffic but would get nieces home in time for their scheduled performance rehearsal.
​

12:08-12:10pm:

Diane’s cell phone receives a 2 min call from an unidentified person. (Daniel Schuler’s PI reported that this was from a Schuler relative - not her husband, Daniel.)
​

12:58-1:01pm:

Call made from Diane’s cell phone to Warren Hance (from a parking area south of the Tappan Zee Bridge). It is reported that Emma (Diane’s 8 yr old niece) told her father Aunt Diane appeared to have trouble seeing and is talking funny. The call was dropped after three minutes.
​

1:02-1:10pm:

Diane’s cell phone receives a call from Warren. During the 8-minute conversation, it was reported Diane told Warren she felt disoriented, and had trouble seeing. Asking where she was, Emma got on the phone and told her dad she saw signs for Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown. Hance is reported to have told Diane to stay put and he will come get her.
​

1:15pm:

Follow-up calls by Warren Hance to Diane were unanswered.
​

1:33-1:34pm:

Several drivers place calls to 911 after seeing Diane’s minivan traveling the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway.
​

1:35-1:37pm:

Diane travels 1.7 miles into oncoming traffic before colliding head-on with a Chevy Trailblazer with 3 passengers. Witnesses reported she had not been driving erratically on the Taconic, as she had been earlier. Diane, her daughter, her 3 nieces, and the 3 men in the SUV were killed in the accident. Diane’s/Daniel’s 5 year old son was the only survivor.
​

1:42pm:

Warren Hance places a call to the New York State Police while en route to Tarrytown, NY.
​

3:40pm:

A motorist discovers Diane’s cell phone on a concrete barrier (near the parking area south of the Tappan Zee Bridge).
​

August 3, 2009

A toxicology report finds that Diane Schuler had consumed at least 10 oz of liquor (blood alcohol content of .19, more than double the legal limit) and had smoked marijuana within 1 hour of the collision. A 1.75-liter bottle of vodka was found in the wreckage of her minivan.
​

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20090730/NEWS01/90730001
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/police-try-to-retrace-diane-schuler-s-route-1.1339067
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/private-investigator-schuler-s-cell-made-2-calls-got-2-1.1357864
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/cops-woman-in-crash-may-have-been-driving-erratically-1.1346291
http://www.lohud.com/article/20090730/NEWS02/907300377

 

[Intermezzo]

Years ago one of my friends lost her three grandsons in a mobile explosion caused by faulty wiring. In the mobile were also three little girls who were the nieces of the boys mother. The parents of the boys have never recovered from the loss of their boys. The dad works and drinks. The mother works for CPS and takes all of the over time she can get. She doesn't drink but is a work-a-holic. The dad works..owns his own concrete laying business and when he isn't working he numbs out with alcohol. It is just really a sad situation. I know that both parents wish they had been in the mobile when it exploded but mom had ran dad about 1 mile down the road to his job. It happened in the matter of minutes after the parents left. The kids were asleep as it was around 6 am and the oldest boy was old enough to watch the others if they had woke up.

I just wonder how this couple is going to cope with the loss of their whole family. I just can't imagine losing all of my children at one time. It's hard enough to lose one much less three. What an empty home it would be. They are used to the sound of children and now all they will hear is silence. Reminders all over the house and community. It has to be such a nightmare. My heart breaks for them. And then to top it off...it should never have happened. They died at the hand of their aunt...their dad's sister...and because of alcohol. Just horrible.

Thanks for sharing your story, what a tragedy.
BBM
I have had the same thoughts...I also have 3 young girls.
No more hugs and kisses for mom & dad,...no more "can you make cupcakes for my class" etc.....3 empty bedrooms, toys never to be played with again, books never to be read at bedtime,and so much more Never to be done moments...now there is only SILENCE in a home that once had the voices of 3 little angels. I'm crying again.

 

[Intermezzo]

I think that this was an intentional act, and I think that the cell phone calls were from Diane telling someone that she had had it, game over, etc. I think that is why she left or threw the cell phone, did not want anyone to change her mind. The drinking was to give her courage, and I do not think she had driven drunk with kids before....though I do think she was an alcoholic,and I am not sure about her husband, either....

WHY was she given all those kids to drive back? In the best of circumstances, it is not a good idea to travel with that many! Did all of the younger ones have car seats?
My opinion only

Interesting theory NNY
My sister and I each have 3 kids..whenever the 2 families,(sometimes with grandparents) go away together the kids always want to be together, sleep in the same room, ride in the same vehicle...etc .but we never let only 1 parent go with all these kids, it's always 2 of us...we've never stopped to think or discuss should 1 or 2 adults go in the van with 6 kids....it just happens that one of us gets in the driver seat and the other in the front passenger. That's just how we do it..
My heart aches for the lose.

 

[Intermezzo]

Reb,

I'd bet money that WAY more than one professional suburban housewife somewhere in this country is tracking this story and seeing herself. Now, will she say "That could never happen to me - I can handle my stuff - look how well I handle my stuff!" or will she say, "I need help before this happens to me."

I agree with you SCM

 

[grace60]

I think that this was an intentional act, and I think that the cell phone calls were from Diane telling someone that she had had it, game over, etc. I think that is why she left or threw the cell phone, did not want anyone to change her mind. The drinking was to give her courage, and I do not think she had driven drunk with kids before....though I do think she was an alcoholic,and I am not sure about her husband, either....

WHY was she given all those kids to drive back? In the best of circumstances, it is not a good idea to travel with that many! Did all of the younger ones have car seats?

My opinion only

I had a van like the one she was driving and it had 2 built in car seats in the 1st back seat.

 

[MCDRAW]

Interesting theory NNY
My sister and I each have 3 kids..whenever the 2 families,(sometimes with grandparents) go away together the kids always want to be together, sleep in the same room, ride in the same vehicle...etc .but we never let only 1 parent go with all these kids, it's always 2 of us...we've never stopped to think or discuss should 1 or 2 adults go in the van with 6 kids....it just happens that one of us gets in the driver seat and the other in the front passenger. That's just how we do it..
My heart aches for the lose.

My kids always want their cousins to ride with us. There have been times I have had up to seven children in my suburban by myself. So I don't find it unusual. If she did this on purpose why would she pick that day? She could have had a "car accident" anytime when she had no children with her. I can not imagine how her brother feels to first loose all his children and second for it to be because his sister was drinking and driving. For her husband to have to grieve the lose of his wife and their daughter and deal with an injured son while having to come to terms with the fact that it could have been prevented had she not been drinking, smoking pot, and driving. I feel for the other family that has to deal with the deaths of their family members through no fault of their own. I also feel for a little boy that will have to know that his Mother killed herself, his sister and his cousins, three other men, and almost killed him because she didn't act responsible. There are so many victims in this case.

 

[Intermezzo]

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.""

Oh wow, how gut wrenching. My heart goes out to the first responders and to all the motorists who stopped to help before emergency workers could get on scene.

 

[southcitymom]

My kids always want their cousins to ride with us. There have been times I have had up to seven children in my suburban by myself. So I don't find it unusual. If she did this on purpose why would she pick that day? She could have had a "car accident" anytime when she had no children with her. I can not imagine how her brother feels to first loose all his children and second for it to be because his sister was drinking and driving. For her husband to have to grieve the lose of his wife and their daughter and deal with an injured son while having to come to terms with the fact that it could have been prevented had she not been drinking, smoking pot, and driving. I feel for the other family that has to deal with the deaths of their family members through no fault of their own. I also feel for a little boy that will have to know that his Mother killed herself, his sister and his cousins, three other men, and almost killed him because she didn't act responsible. There are so many victims in this case.

Same here about being the solo adult driving with a gaggle of kids - that happens all the time in my world, and so I don't find it unusual either.

 

[southcitymom]

My best friend's ex-husband got tagged with a DUI a couple of months ago. He had been clean for 22 years and then started drinking "socially" again two years ago. He bought a breathalyzer and put it in his car, so that he could check himself and make sure he never drove when he was legally drunk.

But when he got pulled over 2 months ago, he had not used the breathalyzer before driving. (That's the thing about drinking - it makes your sober resolutions seem unimportant - you rarely think you are as drunk as you are). Anyway, he was weaving and speeding and got pulled and charged with DUI and taken to jail and bonded out the next day.

He went to court with his attorney yesterday and, if he pleads guilty, he can pay a fine and take a course and do some other little things and put the whole mess behind him in about three months, so that's what he's going to do.

I'm telling this story to point out the fact that our society and our courts do NOT make a big deal out of drunk driving unless someone is injured. The only difference between my best friend's ex and Diane Shuler is luck. He could have caused the same type of deadly collision, but he didn't. He was lucky and she was not.

Some states would charge DS with murder had she survived this crash. But no state will charge someone who gets arrested for DUI with attempted murder. It makes no sense - we only want to punish the unlucky driving drunks. All the other ones get a slap on the wrist.

I don't know if we will ever crack down on DUI because so many people do it and drinking is so acceptable.

 

[SuziQ]

Her family knew she was a pothead.
Deadly wrong-way driver Diane Schuler relied on marijuana to fall asleep, her family told People magazine in an exclusive interview.
Brother-in-law Jimmy Schuler insists the Long Island mom of two was practically a teetotaler, though he says the family was aware she used pot when she couldn't sleep.

More at link
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08142009/news/regionalnews/crash_ma_was_a_toker_184512.htm

 

[southcitymom]

I don't know if using pot to sleep qualifies one as a pothead - that's a medically accepted use for marijuana. This is, however, The Post. I wonder who their family source is?

One of the things that interests me is the fact that no close family or friends or coworkers have come forward to say publicly - yes, I thought she had a problem.

 

[john's mom]

Channel 7 (ABC) news at noon (NY) just said that the Shuler's PI claims that "she tried to buy over the counter pain medication in Liberty NY and she was sober at the time."

I think Liberty is where the McDonald's was. Maybe she was slugging the vodka to kill the pain,(toothache?) and not being a 'drinker' had waaay too much?

I don't know, maybe she wasn't a closet drinker, just trying to make sense of this terrible tragedy.

 

[MomofBoys]

I have a 2003 Ford Windstar. Same color. Seeing those pictures is unnerving because it's like seeing what would happen to my own van in such a crash.

Five children would fit nicely in my van, but I'm assuming one child would be in a convertible car seat (like a Britax Marathon) forward-facing, and the other would be (or should be) in a booster seat. I'm not sure if the youngest niece would have some sort of booster or not.

It'd be awfully tight in there, and I'm having a hard time picturing all of them being restrained properly. If this was a fairly standard 2003, you'd have at most one full bench and one shorter bench. Let's say the two year-old was on the front, shorter bench. Another child could be on that seat, restrained. Not more than one. The other three would likely be on the back bench, which has two shoulder belts on either side and one latch belt in the middle. The other booster (or convertible car seat) would likely go there.

I'm leaving the front passenger seat out of the equation because I got the impression that seat was unoccupied, but I could be wrong.

Now, if it was like my sister's Windstar (2001, but they are very similar--there wasn't a major redesign until the Windstar became the Freestar in 2004) then it'd be one bench in the rear and two bucket seats in the middle. Either scenario would allow five restrained children, but it'd be uncomfortably tight on that rear bench and I could imagine that a stressed woman with obvious other issues going on might not really be attentive to or care that the children were up, unrestrained, switching seats, etc. Of course, if she was acting and driving like was said, then likely those poor angels were clutching onto the seats and each other for all that was worth.

 

[SuziQ]

Channel 7 (ABC) news at noon (NY) just said that the Shuler's PI claims that "she tried to buy over the counter pain medication in Liberty NY and she was sober at the time."

I think Liberty is where the McDonald's was. Maybe she was slugging the vodka to kill the pain,(toothache?) and not being a 'drinker' had waaay too much?

I don't know, maybe she wasn't a closet drinker, just trying to make sense of this terrible tragedy.

"She tried to buy over the counter pain medication", sounds like she wasn't able to. Why not? She wouldn't need a prescription. Did she have no money or was her credit card denied?

 

[southcitymom]

"She tried to buy over the counter pain medication", sounds like she wasn't able to. Why not? She wouldn't need a prescription. Did she have no money or was her credit card denied?

That was my exact same thought. Either she did or she didn't, but I don't fully understand "she tried."

 

[southcitymom]

I have a 2003 Ford Windstar. Same color. Seeing those pictures is unnerving because it's like seeing what would happen to my own van in such a crash.

Five children would fit nicely in my van, but I'm assuming one child would be in a convertible car seat (like a Britax Marathon) forward-facing, and the other would be (or should be) in a booster seat. I'm not sure if the youngest niece would have some sort of booster or not.

It'd be awfully tight in there, and I'm having a hard time picturing all of them being restrained properly. If this was a fairly standard 2003, you'd have at most one full bench and one shorter bench. Let's say the two year-old was on the front, shorter bench. Another child could be on that seat, restrained. Not more than one. The other three would likely be on the back bench, which has two shoulder belts on either side and one latch belt in the middle. The other booster (or convertible car seat) would likely go there.

I'm leaving the front passenger seat out of the equation because I got the impression that seat was unoccupied, but I could be wrong.

Now, if it was like my sister's Windstar (2001, but they are very similar--there wasn't a major redesign until the Windstar became the Freestar in 2004) then it'd be one bench in the rear and two bucket seats in the middle. Either scenario would allow five restrained children, but it'd be uncomfortably tight on that rear bench and I could imagine that a stressed woman with obvious other issues going on might not really be attentive to or care that the children were up, unrestrained, switching seats, etc. Of course, if she was acting and driving like was said, then likely those poor angels were clutching onto the seats and each other for all that was worth.

I had some similar thoughts. I drive a Honda Odyssey with a very similar layout. Five kids can safely fit in the bucket seats in the middle and back bench seat, but it wouldn't be comfortable in the back row for a long trip.

I did have the thought that the oldest niece might have been in the front passenger seat. My 8-year-old son is over 5 feet tall and weighs 110 pounds and can safely ride in the front passenger seat and he does for carpool purposes - and other short jaunts. But, for a longer trip, I prefer him in the back. However, I don't know if the 9-year-old was as big as my son - chances are she was not.

 

[RJA00]

I don't know if using pot to sleep qualifies one as a pothead - that's a medically accepted use for marijuana. This is, however, The Post. I wonder who their family source is?

One of the things that interests me is the fact that no close family or friends or coworkers have come forward to say publicly - yes, I thought she had a problem.

about 20 years ago i worked at a restaurant. there was lady in the kitchen and she always asked me for one cigarette before she went home,
she said smoking a cigarette helped her sleep, not a funny cigarette lol
I remember the first time she asked me i almost fell over this lady was a saint i could not believe she asked for a cigarette

i have heard pot makes you sleepy and hungry, no experience just what i have been told

 

[Kat]

Hmm, I watched a tad bit of NG last night while I was cleaning the kitchen after dinner.

IMHO, if the Husband's lawyers are going to throw out alternative reasons for the blood alcohol level and the pot in her system~ then they need to put their money where their mouth is so to speak.

They need to either perform additional testing that will support their claims or they need to hush up.

This is just nonsense on the lawyers part. I can't imagine that anyone will seriously entertain their claims if they are unwilling to back up those claims....good grief. This is a mess isn't it?

 

[SuziQ]

Ahhh, she asked the clerk for some and the convenience store didn't have any....

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Wrong-Way-Crash-Mom-Was-a-Pothead-Family--53220122.html

(snip)
The family even hired a private investigator to try to prove there was a medical reason behind the crash. Thomas Ruskin, the private eye, says he's got video surveillance to confirm Schuler stopped at an upstate convenience store – and a statement from a store clerk that says she asked for over-the-counter pain medicine, according to the Daily News.
Ruskin says video footage, which hasn't been released, showed Schuler inside and outside the store in Liberty, N.Y. and speaking with the clerk behind the counter. He says the clerk described her as sober less than four hours before the wreck.

"He said she asked him for Tylenol or Advil and he didn't have any - so the question becomes what was bothering Diane Schuler?" Ruskin told the News.