8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway

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SleuthyMama said:
You are correct, JBean. I don't have a link handy but I know somewhere in the thread there is at least one article that states other drivers did call 911 on her when it was believed she was the person driving erratically.

My guess, and it's total speculation, is that none of the callers were able to get a plate number and that's possibly why she wasn't stopped.

There is an article in this morning's NY Post (and as usual, take it for what it's worth coming from the Post) that states that the Hances are no longer speaking to Daniel Schuler and have forged a relationship with the Bastardi and Longo families.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08122009/news/regionalnews/taconic_clan_split_184178.htm
Click to expand...


Today, I believe it was on JVM it was said that the parents of the three little girls have seperated themselves from Diane's husband. The reason wasn't given and it wasn't said that they have formed a relationship with the Bastardi's and Longos. I do know that they sent a card to the other familys though. They probably wish Diane's husband would just shut up because it was said that him and his attorneys are just making it more difficult for the families that lost loved ones in the wreck which would include Diane's brother and his wife.
 
I saw a movie on Lifetime a while back about a baby that died from what they thought was being fed antifreeze by the mother. The mother was arrested and put in prison. After she was in prison a little while she discovered that she was pregnant. When the baby was born it was put in a foster home. The mom was out of prison for some reason...I can't remember how the whole story went but she got to have supervised visits with the new baby which was a boy. Pretty soon the new baby started having the same problems the baby that died had. LE thought that the mother must be sneaking in some antifreeze and feeding it to the new baby. The mother swore that she never gave her babys antifreeze. The parents got a new attorney that started digging around and discovered that these babies had something in their makeup that turned something in their system to antifreeze. He got scientists on the case and they proved that the babies weren't given antifreeze at all but that something in their systems turned to antifreeze. Because of this new found knowledge the new baby was treated and lived and mom didn't have to stay in prison.

I have been wondering if something like this could have happened to Diane. Could the ME tell that the alcohol was vodka or just alcohol? Could something in her body turned to alcohol? I know it sounds crazy but it has happened before and that mother would have been in prison for the rest of her life for murdering her baby if her new attorney hadn't been on the ball and investigated like he did. Diane's husband is so insistant that she didn't drink and that bottle of vodka could have been the bottle that they took back and forth every weekend. Her husband did say that she smoked pot and she probably did some a joint to relax with all of the kids riding back with her.
I just wonder if something like the case with the baby could have happened to Diane. I wonder what if anything would turn something in a person's body to alcohol. I wish someone involved in this case would check that out and see if it is possible.
 
capoly said:
I know this is useless to do as figuring out times/places won't change a thing in reality. But am just not getting out of that 'if we can turn back time' mode......so just bypass this post if it is too annoying, though probably safe to say I'm not alone in wishing we could turn back time.

Anyway, Veromi shows Diane (Hance) and Daniel Schuler living as roommates in Middletown. Don't know if that's 100% reliable but if a stop was made in Middletown it might explain the timing.

The call to her brother re running late imo suggests she stopped somewhere just prior to the call and was covering her time there re heavy traffic. Have used that excuse myself when over-shopping.

(10:40-1:pM approx)

10:40 - Left McDonalds:
Liberty to Middletown approx 40 mins. 11:20AM +/-
Made phone call to brother at 11:37AM
Received phone call from Schuler family member at 12:08PM

Arrived at Tarrytown approx 1PM
Middletown to Tarrytown, NY 57 mins
Click to expand...

That's very interesting. Here is a good link that shows a simple map also. http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=NEWS76
 
Curious1381 said:
If this attorney actually said this, he should be disbarred IMO.

He is making a mockery of this very tragic situation. It would be comical if the circumstances weren't so serious. And I actually believe Daniel Schuler didn't know that his wife was drunk when she left the camp ground, but his attorney is absolutely pathetic.

I am almost speechless.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08132009/news/regionalnews/dead_drunk_kins_numbskull_ploy_184347.htm
Click to expand...

I agree. Totally ridiculous. Daniel Schuler should get as far away from this man as humanly possible, apologize to the victims for his statements made when he was shocked and grief stricken, and SHUT UP. He has enough to do taking care of his son that he has no need to be hanging out with this crazy lawyer and throwing out absurd ideas to the press.

I do believe he was surprised, but the more he acts like this the more I want to question why he is being SOOOO defensive instead of just stunned and heartbroken like everyone else who didn't know.
 
Again, y'all - let's bear in mind that Barbara may well be the attorney assigned to Daniel Shuler by his insurance company. Has Shuler himself made any statements concerning things since those at the pressers last week? If the insurance companies are paying Barbara's bills to mitigate the potential damages of civil suits, there's not a whole heck of a lot Shuler can do about Barbara's strategies.

I'm not saying this IS the case - only that it very well could be. Until I know a lot more about the nature of their relationship, I am not comfortable assuming that Barbara and Shuler are on the same page here.
 
I wonder if Barbara sought out Daniel Shuler, somehow I suspect he did. I really wish someone close to Daniel would sit him down and tell him to kick that man to the curb and be done with him. Shumer obviously needs an attorney, but he would do well to retain one with empathy towards the victim's families, and respect for the truth, wherever the truth may lead. I wish Shumer would issue a statement saying that shock and grief have overwhelmed him, and as a result he has not made the best decisions in the aftermath of the tragedy. If he still questions the tox findings, have an independent autopsy conducted, and then find a way to live with the results. He still has a young son to care for, and he needs to find the best way to move forward through this horrible situation. And he needs people with character and strength to help him do it, not sleazebag attorneys like Barbara.
 
southcitymom said:
Again, y'all - let's bear in mind that Barbara may well be the attorney assigned to Daniel Shuler by his insurance company. Has Shuler himself made any statements concerning things since those at the pressers last week? If the insurance companies are paying Barbara's bills to mitigate the potential damages of civil suits, there's not a whole heck of a lot Shuler can do about Barbara's strategies.

I'm not saying this IS the case - only that it very well could be. Until I know a lot more about the nature of their relationship, I am not comfortable assuming that Barbara and Shuler are on the same page here.
Click to expand...

If Barbara is the attorney the insurance company has retained, then Schuler needs to get one who will represent HIM and his best interests. Barbara is certainly not doing it.
 
Bobbisangel said:
I saw a movie on Lifetime a while back about a baby that died from what they thought was being fed antifreeze by the mother. The mother was arrested and put in prison. After she was in prison a little while she discovered that she was pregnant. When the baby was born it was put in a foster home. The mom was out of prison for some reason...I can't remember how the whole story went but she got to have supervised visits with the new baby which was a boy. Pretty soon the new baby started having the same problems the baby that died had. LE thought that the mother must be sneaking in some antifreeze and feeding it to the new baby. The mother swore that she never gave her babys antifreeze. The parents got a new attorney that started digging around and discovered that these babies had something in their makeup that turned something in their system to antifreeze. He got scientists on the case and they proved that the babies weren't given antifreeze at all but that something in their systems turned to antifreeze. Because of this new found knowledge the new baby was treated and lived and mom didn't have to stay in prison.

I have been wondering if something like this could have happened to Diane. Could the ME tell that the alcohol was vodka or just alcohol? Could something in her body turned to alcohol? I know it sounds crazy but it has happened before and that mother would have been in prison for the rest of her life for murdering her baby if her new attorney hadn't been on the ball and investigated like he did. Diane's husband is so insistant that she didn't drink and that bottle of vodka could have been the bottle that they took back and forth every weekend. Her husband did say that she smoked pot and she probably did some a joint to relax with all of the kids riding back with her.
I just wonder if something like the case with the baby could have happened to Diane. I wonder what if anything would turn something in a person's body to alcohol. I wish someone involved in this case would check that out and see if it is possible.
Click to expand...

Interesting thought. I used to have a friend who could not drink regular Pepsi--it made her "drunk." She literally appeared wasted and felt it. However, to my knowledge, it didn't metabolize into anything else. Coke and other colas were fine for her, but she had to be very careful when eating out that no one ever served her Pepsi. (That was a good movie, by the way.) :)
 
southcitymom said:
Again, y'all - let's bear in mind that Barbara may well be the attorney assigned to Daniel Shuler by his insurance company. Has Shuler himself made any statements concerning things since those at the pressers last week? If the insurance companies are paying Barbara's bills to mitigate the potential damages of civil suits, there's not a whole heck of a lot Shuler can do about Barbara's strategies.

I'm not saying this IS the case - only that it very well could be. Until I know a lot more about the nature of their relationship, I am not comfortable assuming that Barbara and Shuler are on the same page here.
Click to expand...

I didn't know or think about this possibility, so thanks for pointing that out. I will have to go back and look at which statements were made by whom.

However, Daniel has made statements that were inconsistent - she didn't drink, she drank socially, we carried a big bottle of vodka in the car with us, etc. That makes my alarm bells go off. Right now I am chalking it up to concern for his job and initial shock, but I hope someone can rein Barbara in. He is not helping.
 
southcitymom said:
Again, y'all - let's bear in mind that Barbara may well be the attorney assigned to Daniel Shuler by his insurance company. Has Shuler himself made any statements concerning things since those at the pressers last week? If the insurance companies are paying Barbara's bills to mitigate the potential damages of civil suits, there's not a whole heck of a lot Shuler can do about Barbara's strategies.

I'm not saying this IS the case - only that it very well could be. Until I know a lot more about the nature of their relationship, I am not comfortable assuming that Barbara and Shuler are on the same page here.
Click to expand...

Dominic Barbara is a publicity hound. He does high-profile cases, mostly divorces but sometimes criminal. He is not a lawyer that a respectable insurance company would hire. He, in turn, would probably think working for an insurance company beneath him.

I would not hire him and I can understand why the Hance family would be running the other way. He does not have a good reputation. Think: Joey Buttafuoco, Jessica Hahn. He either used to or still does appear on the Howard Stern show.

Barbara is apparently representing Schuler for free. For free publicity, I am sure.

I'm curious about what insurance Schuler could have that would assign a lawyer to him anyway. His homeowner's insurance? Diane's life insurance? The auto insurance would be Warren Hance's.
 
southcitymom said:
Again, y'all - let's bear in mind that Barbara may well be the attorney assigned to Daniel Shuler by his insurance company. Has Shuler himself made any statements concerning things since those at the pressers last week? If the insurance companies are paying Barbara's bills to mitigate the potential damages of civil suits, there's not a whole heck of a lot Shuler can do about Barbara's strategies.

I'm not saying this IS the case - only that it very well could be. Until I know a lot more about the nature of their relationship, I am not comfortable assuming that Barbara and Shuler are on the same page here.
Click to expand...

All due respect, SCM but I sincerely doubt that Schuler's insurance company assigned Barbara to represent him. That's not this man's style. He's celebrity enough in his own right to not be working for insurance companies at this point in his career. Google him and read some of the stories, if you haven't already.

You could be right because stranger things have happened in this world but something just tells me that Barbara either contacted Schuler himself and offered his services pro bono for the publicity he could get out of it or because they are both from LI one of them knew someone who knew someone who knew the other one and that's how they hooked up. I think they are on the same page here. JMO.
 
Thanks, ElizaAvalon for the post re Barbara. I posted before I read yours.
 
Curious1381 said:
If this attorney actually said this, he should be disbarred IMO.

He is making a mockery of this very tragic situation. It would be comical if the circumstances weren't so serious. And I actually believe Daniel Schuler didn't know that his wife was drunk when she left the camp ground, but his attorney is absolutely pathetic.

I am almost speechless.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08132009/news/regionalnews/dead_drunk_kins_numbskull_ploy_184347.htm
Click to expand...

Thank you, Curious for posting this. You beat me to it. You're so right. It would be funny if this wasn't such a tragedy. What kills me about this is how they can only speculate on if the vodka bottle was in the car yet they are POSITIVE that Diane had this Anbesol with her and THAT'S what caused her to drive like that. Not the 10 drinks and the pot. Oh no. Those were just FALSE RESULTS caused by the multiple hits of Anbesol. Yeah, okay. :rolleyes:
 
robinparten said:
If Barbara is the attorney the insurance company has retained, then Schuler needs to get one who will represent HIM and his best interests. Barbara is certainly not doing it.
Click to expand...

I agree with you that Barbara's goals may be very different than Shuler's. Shuler may not have money to retain counsel.

No decent attorney in the world is going to let Shuler obtain a private autopsy/BAC - Shuler would have to go off the reservation to get that done. And if he is still in deep denial, it might be easier to not do it. His mind may be constructing a map that says, "I KNOW she didn't have a substance abuse problem, but these attorneys won't let me prove it by having another test done," and this will allow him to believe that the test was faulty for as long as he needs to.

Just thinking out loud here, of course - we haven't heard from Shuler recently, so who knows where he is with sorting this all out - I suspect he is with his son - I read a relative in another article say he is by his son's side constantly.
 
SleuthyMama said:
All due respect, SCM but I sincerely doubt that Schuler's insurance company assigned Barbara to represent him. That's not this man's style. He's celebrity enough in his own right to not be working for insurance companies at this point in his career. Google him and read some of the stories, if you haven't already.

You could be right because stranger things have happened in this world but something just tells me that Barbara either contacted Schuler himself and offered his services pro bono for the publicity he could get out of it or because they are both from LI one of them knew someone who knew someone who knew the other one and that's how they hooked up. I think they are on the same page here. JMO.
Click to expand...

I have no idea and would love to know how their relationship came about. All I know is based on my own work on traumatic tort auto cases (none as high profile as this one) - as soon as the insurance company catches a whiff of the inevitable suits, attorneys are contacted and given the business and the positioning begins immediately.

Heck, Barbara could have contacted the insurance company himself. I don't care if Barbara contacted Shuler and is representing him pro bono or otherwise - I'm just saying that based on what I know about cases like this, I can't assume that as fact.
 
I understand, SCM. Here's a question, as you have had experience with similar situations...would the insurance company provide a lawyer to specifically handle the tort auto case and Barbara be retained for other related issues? Is that possible?
 
ElizaAvalon said:
Dominic Barbara is a publicity hound. He does high-profile cases, mostly divorces but sometimes criminal. He is not a lawyer that a respectable insurance company would hire. He, in turn, would probably think working for an insurance company beneath him.

I would not hire him and I can understand why the Hance family would be running the other way. He does not have a good reputation. Think: Joey Buttafuoco, Jessica Hahn. He either used to or still does appear on the Howard Stern show.

Barbara is apparently representing Schuler for free. For free publicity, I am sure.

I'm curious about what insurance Schuler could have that would assign a lawyer to him anyway. His homeowner's insurance? Diane's life insurance? The auto insurance would be Warren Hance's.
Click to expand...

Diane may well have been assigned insurance from her and her husband's auto policy - I know mine follows me if I drive other vehicles that I do not own. Also, depending on how the policies are written, any homeowners and umbrella could also have exposure.

I hear what you're saying about Barbara's style and substance (or lack thereof, if you will), but do not kid yourself that insurance companies only want to hire respectable attorneys - they want to hire pitbulls that will use every trick in the book on the right side of the law to win the case or mitigate its damages. You don't get insurance company dollars because you're respectable.
 
SleuthyMama said:
I understand, SCM. Here's a question, as you have had experience with similar situations...would the insurance company provide a lawyer to specifically handle the tort auto case and Barbara be retained for other related issues? Is that possible?
Click to expand...

Yes - the insurance company could have assigned a completely different attorney to handle the auto tort and Barbara could have been hired directly and separately to assist Shuler. That is entirely possible. But it is also entirely possible that Barbara is handling the whole case on behalf of the company.
 
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