8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway

[southcitymom]

I agree about the early stages of alcoholism. I can also see how easy it would be for her to hide it. Hubby works nights, she gets home around 6 pm send the sitter on her way and she starts to have a few drinks. Kids in bed by 8 or 9 she could drink a hour or 2 more. I doubt hubby jumped into bed as soon as he got home and may have often fallen asleep on the couch after he got home. She could have done this 2 or 3 times a week.

Absolutely. At this point the only thing that could convince me that DS didn't have addiction issues would be if the BAC was faulty.

 

[Sal]

I don't know that we'll ever get to the bottom of whether or not DS was an alky but she was sure drunk and high that awful day. I'll even throw in the towel and give DS the benny of the doubt that the abcessed tooth maybe got the best of her, and not being willing (or able at the moment) to see the dentist, she self medicated with vodka and pot. I had to wait all weekend once with an abcessed tooth and I stayed in the bed and did nothing but eat pills, od'd on vicodin and some other painkiller like there was no tomorrow. That thing hurt like a mother. I remember once, too, having a really bad cough and just guzzling the cough syrup. I think it was Robitussin. I've since tried to recreate that same high I got off that cough syrup (back in the 80s) and they sure must've switched up their recipe or I have a much greater tolerance now to cough syrup! I sure don't mean to be making excuses for the woman. I'm just sayin.

 

[Intermezzo]

I don't understand this: If she was trying so desperately to hide her drinking, why would she freely admit that she wasn't feeling well and was having difficulty seeing things?

I really think there is so much more to this story.

All I can think of is since the eldest girl knew something was wrong with auntie D and told her dad so on the first phone call..
IMO Diane had a choice to make 1) she could lie and said everything was peachy keen but then the kids may say something once they got back home or 2) agree with not feeling well and try to come up a valid reason before she got the kids home and questioned again...

Just my theory and :twocents:, of course because I don't know why she told him(paraphrasing) "Ya, I'm not feeling well, I'm having trouble seeing" ...then decides to toss the phone and drive off.

 

[Intermezzo]

I don't know that we'll ever get to the bottom of whether or not DS was an alky but she was sure drunk and high that awful day. I'll even throw in the towel and give DS the benny of the doubt that the abcessed tooth maybe got the best of her, and not being willing (or able at the moment) to see the dentist, she self medicated with vodka and pot. I had to wait all weekend once with an abcessed tooth and I stayed in the bed and did nothing but eat pills, od'd on vicodin and some other painkiller like there was no tomorrow. That thing hurt like a mother. I remember once, too, having a really bad cough and just guzzling the cough syrup. I think it was Robitussin. I've since tried to recreate that same high I got off that cough syrup (back in the 80s) and they sure must've switched up their recipe or I have a much greater tolerance now to cough syrup! I sure don't mean to be making excuses for the woman. I'm just sayin.

Yes.. IMO that's where the investigation centers on..what she did THAT DAY.

I have learned alot on WS and coming to this thread has continued that education thru the posts of wonderful sleuthers that have opened up and told us their life stories. :blowkiss:

 

[Intermezzo]

Seems like Emma had already said that "there's something wrong with Aunt Diane," and mentioned both her speech and vision problems. So Diane couldn't really say "I'm fine." Instead, she probably indicated that she was sick, rather than drunk, to explain it away for her brother. I know that's something I would do when drinking. I remember one time I was slurring my words and I told the person on the phone with me that "I hadth bidthen mah tung!!"

I agree with your post Tapu.
She must have decided it was easier at that moment to follow thru with what the neice had told her dad and say she was sick to explain away her being drunk. :twocents:

 

[White Rain]

I have yet to post to this thread even though I lurk...I consider myself a former alkie...well, not just consider, I know I was.
Last year I got a DUI and when I posted the fact on here I got REAMED, and OH DO I MEAN REAMED......I got ugly posts and PM's, and I felt so very hurt but what happened happened. I did what I did, no exscuses.
I can honestly 100% say I NEVER DROVE DRUNK WITH A CHILD IN THE CAR. Drove drunk, yes, many times, other adults yes, but never ever any kids. Not that that makes me any better.
But anyway, I so respect the ones of you who on here admitted to having a problem.

 

[grace60]

I don't know that we'll ever get to the bottom of whether or not DS was an alky but she was sure drunk and high that awful day. I'll even throw in the towel and give DS the benny of the doubt that the abcessed tooth maybe got the best of her, and not being willing (or able at the moment) to see the dentist, she self medicated with vodka and pot. I had to wait all weekend once with an abcessed tooth and I stayed in the bed and did nothing but eat pills, od'd on vicodin and some other painkiller like there was no tomorrow. That thing hurt like a mother. I remember once, too, having a really bad cough and just guzzling the cough syrup. I think it was Robitussin. I've since tried to recreate that same high I got off that cough syrup (back in the 80s) and they sure must've switched up their recipe or I have a much greater tolerance now to cough syrup! I sure don't mean to be making excuses for the woman. I'm just sayin.

It's called robotripping and I first learned about it in early 2000. "Robotripping" -- getting a hallucinogenic high with cold and cough medicines like Robitussin -- " http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2702166&page=1

This is a old article. You can google dxm or robotripping and find out a lot.

 

[annmarie62]

This is a question I have been asking myself and it's hard to know, especially when we don't know how impaired she was and how bad she was feeling, but I am 99% sure I would have acted very similarly to Diane.

Once I get on the phone with my brother, If I am able to act like nothing is wrong and I didn't know why Emma had called then is my first choice. But as I talk to my brother, I piece things together - Emma's worried, she's gotten her father worried, I DO feel like hell and I am slurring a little. So I try to buy time.

I go to choice number 2 - I tell a little bit of the truth "Yes, I am feeling badly and confused and having some visual disturbances - I don't know what's wrong with me." This buys me some time because I am absolutely incapable of telling my brother who has entrusted me with his kids, who thinks I am an awesome mother and person and who doesn't know how much I drink the truth and I'm still thinking I can wiggle my way out of this - after all, I've been fooling him and everyone well for a while now.

Then, once I realize my brother iss coming, PANIC and the desire to buy some more time would rush over me. I would come up with a plan to get myself out of this.

I would leave the phone on the side of the rode because that works into the story I am planning to tell my brother. My plan at this point is to not drink anymore and to sober up in the ride to my brother's house. When I get to his home, I will call him on his cell phone and say, "OMG - I am so sorry - you must have been worried to death - but when we were talking earlier and I was feeling so terrible, I had gotten out of the car to get some fresh air and talk to you and then I flaked and left my phone there. I don't know what happened - I was feeling so bad and so weird, but then after I spoke with you, I started to feel better again, whatever it was passed - I think I just need to get home and rest - I will call the doctor tomorrow morning, blah blah blah"

By the time my brother gets back home to his house, I will have had time to brush my teeth, straighten up and really swing home with this story. I know my brother will buy my story because he has no reason whatsoever to think I would lie to him.

I realize my brother is coming for us and I can't be found, so I start looking for a different route to his house - a route that he wouldn't normally take. This is how I wind up on the Taconic. Once I'm there, I am completely focused on getting us home and sobering up and going over my story in my mind so I can put on the performance I need to put on. I have complete tunnel vision. Then - the collision.

Remember - my story isn't going to be perfect - there will be some holes - my brother may not understand my actions, BUT it will buy me the time I need to act sober again and it's the best plan I can come up with.

OK, excuse me for the font and color, but I'm artistic and can't help myself when given a CHOICE!
SCM, you are incredibly gifted when it comes to totally NAILING an addict's behavior; blows me away. The plotting/planning/re-planning/orchestrating/manipulating/molding/revising that goes on in an addict's mind to avoid confrontation- ESPECIALLY with loved ones/family; even more so when children are involved-is absolutely INCREDIBLE. As a friend of mine (a 'drug buddy', actually) said years ago, "Being an addict is a full-time job." Those who haven't ever lived this way have, imo, NO IDEA how much WORK goes into being a functioning alcoholic and/or addict; it takes stupendous amounts of energy and thought to be able to constantly redirect other people's minds away from the obvious, so much so that it could be a category at the Academy Awards: "And the award for the most believable portraysl of a 'normal' person by a drunk/junkie goes to..." Thank God I no longer qualify, but there was a time I may have won, sad to say... Your description of the mental gymnastics that a user in denial goes thru on an almost DAILY basis is spot-on... Create a lie to cover a lie to camouflage a lie to redirect a focus to distract an intuition... whew! I must say, I've never read such a whip-smart depiction. And I know from personal experience the "toll" such knowledge takes, emotionally/spiritually/physically, etc. I am honored to read your courageous, honest posts.:thumb:

 

[annmarie62]

...don't know why, but i get "logged out" by this forum really quickly...so my 'font/color' did not show up! aarrrrrrgggggggghhhh!!:crazy:

 

[SuziQ]

FINALLY...I found something:

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908080343

"Ruskin, the family's investigator, said Diane Schuler called her brother at 11:37 a.m. to report all was well but that she was running behind schedule.

Ruskin won't discuss details of an incoming call that Diane Schuler received at 12:08 p.m. and lasted for two minutes, nor would he identify who the caller was.

At 12:58 p.m., Ruskin said, Schuler made a call to her brother's phone that lasted three minutes. At 1:02 p.m. there was another call to Warren Hance, this one lasting for eight minutes."

This must have been one of the first mentions of it because in later articles they did admit it was a Schuler family member and specifically stated it was not her husband.

ETA: But they have yet to identify exactly who it was or what was discussed. Just find that strange.

Yeah, why hide the details of THAT phone call?

 

[grace60]

...don't know why, but i get "logged out" by this forum really quickly...so my 'font/color' did not show up! aarrrrrrgggggggghhhh!!:crazy:

Try checking the remember me box

 

[capoly]

Yeah, why hide the details of THAT phone call?

It was from her brother Warren.

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - 8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway


ETA Am feeling like the Hances suspected something was up though not saying they thought alcohol.....perhaps marijuana. Re Amber Alert...if Warren TOLD his sister to stay put with his children, that he was coming for them, and she took off with them then she possibly could be viewed as abducting them.

 

[Steve2010]

Hi RR0004,

My post quoted was in response to another post so want to clarify that the SawMill route remains a speculative route. No one has come forward publicly to say they saw her on SawMill.

imo that route requires too much thought so am still leaning towards the Sprain Brook route as it allows for auto pilot movement.

It's said there's a reason for everything.....so hope we are doing our part in that reason for the sake of Emma.

Capoly - I think the police are speculating on SawMill River Parkway instead of Sprain Brook as the route because Spain Brook northbound is NOT accessible from 287/87 - at least that's how it looks from the satellite image on google earth. It only looks like you can go south in the opposite direction.

 

[Invisible]

This is a question I have been asking myself and it's hard to know, especially when we don't know how impaired she was and how bad she was feeling, but I am 99% sure I would have acted very similarly to Diane...



Then, once I realize my brother iss coming, PANIC and the desire to buy some more time would rush over me. I would come up with a plan to get myself out of this...

... My plan at this point is to not drink anymore and to sober up in the ride to my brother's house.
By the time my brother gets back home to his house, I will have had time to brush my teeth, straighten up and really swing home with this story. I know my brother will buy my story because he has no reason whatsoever to think I would lie to him.

... Once I'm there, I am completely focused on getting us home and sobering up ]

BBM

Thank you so much for your perspective SCM. Here is what bothers me though about Diane's actions. Why did she have to drink on the way home? Couldn't she just wait the 4 hours until she got home to start drinking? Wouldn't that have been easier than trying to sober up? It seems like it would be harder to stop after she started than it would have been to just wait until she got home to start drinking.

 

[CatMama3]

I realize my brother is coming for us and I can't be found, so I start looking for a different route to his house - a route that he wouldn't normally take. This is how I wind up on the Taconic. Once I'm there, I am completely focused on getting us home and sobering up and going over my story in my mind so I can put on the performance I need to put on. I have complete tunnel vision. Then - the collision.

Remember - my story isn't going to be perfect - there will be some holes - my brother may not understand my actions, BUT it will buy me the time I need to act sober again and it's the best plan I can come up with.

respectfully snipped by me hours later...

Excellent point! To me, that would explain the last part that seemed so strange. I just attributed it to a panicked need to get to the brother's house, drop the kids in the driveway and bolt home.

I mean this in the nicest, most supportive way possible for your continued sobriety--you are sneakier than she was (as you said in a much earlier post).

Being serious (and a little mushy), I admire not just your willingness to share your story, but to provide some insight into the addictive mindset. You can't always reach the addict, but you might strike a chord with a loved one of an addict and help them see the forest for the trees.

 

[arielilane]

Daniel Longo in a family picture.

The casket of Daniel Longo being borne into church. (Seth Harrison/The Journal News)

Three sisters Emma, Kate, and Alyson were killed by a drunk driver…their aunt. Also, killed (not pictured) was the drunk driver’s daughter and the drunk driver’s son was critically injured.

Guy Bastardi



Michael Bastardi

Remembering the lives that were lost.

 

[browneyes]

OT: JBean your new avatar is freaking me out!! :crazy:

Me too!!!

 

[arielilane]

It was good to read that the five year old has been released from the hospital.

 

[southcitymom]

This is a question I have been asking myself and it's hard to know, especially when we don't know how impaired she was and how bad she was feeling, but I am 99% sure I would have acted very similarly to Diane...



Then, once I realize my brother iss coming, PANIC and the desire to buy some more time would rush over me. I would come up with a plan to get myself out of this...

... My plan at this point is to not drink anymore and to sober up in the ride to my brother's house.
By the time my brother gets back home to his house, I will have had time to brush my teeth, straighten up and really swing home with this story. I know my brother will buy my story because he has no reason whatsoever to think I would lie to him.

... Once I'm there, I am completely focused on getting us home and sobering up

BBM

Thank you so much for your perspective SCM. Here is what bothers me though about Diane's actions. Why did she have to drink on the way home? Couldn't she just wait the 4 hours until she got home to start drinking? Wouldn't that have been easier than trying to sober up? It seems like it would be harder to stop after she started than it would have been to just wait until she got home to start drinking.

I don't think she planned to get so loaded - I think the alcohol and weed effected her that way in a way it usually did not.

Why does any alcoholic have to have a drink at any time? That's an age-old question, I guess. To truly answer your question, we would need to know much more about how her obsession and compulsion with alcohol or other drugs played out for her historically. I believe that information died with her, so we can only take a stab in the relative dark.

From my perspective, she had been on this camp-out with family for a long weekend - not drinking at all OR where it was harder to hide her drinking or need for it because she was around her "clueless" adult family members.

Once she's in the car and away from the grown-ups, she rewards herself with a treat because she can. I think she probably poured a drink within 20 minutes of leaving the campground - or else, fixed one up at McD's - but I would bet my last dollar that she had it all planned out - had the vodka positioned just so, had her cup ready, knew if she was going to mix it and what with, had plans for how to do this without tipping off the older children...as annmarie pointed out so eloquently, it takes a crazy amount of effort to be a "functioning" addict.

I do not think she planned to get wasted - I think she planned to have a nice mellow ride home (well, as mellow as a ride home with 5 young people can be). I do not think anything "major" set her off to go on a bender. For whatever reason, she drank too much and/or the alcohol hit her differently than it usually did.

FWIW, I think she pulled over and smoked some pot because she was trying to straighten herself out - she realized she had too much booze - sometimes pot can soothe out the edges when you are drunk....but sometimes it can also just make you more loaded.

In any event, I think we do know this - DS needed what she needed and when she needed it so strongly that she did something that normal people can't possibly understand - she drank in the morning on an hours-long road trip with 5 children under her care.

 

[CatMama3]

I agree with your post Tapu.
She must have decided it was easier at that moment to follow thru with what the neice had told her dad and say she was sick to explain away her being drunk. :twocents:

Short of calling Emma a liar, she had to explain away WHY her niece would snag the cell and call her Dad in a panic when she got of the van. So she probably chose to acknowledge that something was wrong, but she blamed it on not feeling well/having a headache/toothache.

She couldn't confess that she was loaded with five kids in the car. That's not how an addict's mind works. Addiction tells the addict that they DON'T have a problem. That's how some go so long and so far before hitting bottom. Sadly, Diane's bottom was slamming head-on into an SUV and taking seven people with her.

I admit I don't get not seeing the problem. Even in an emergency, I would sooner call a relative, a cab or the police to transport someone and admit I was drunk rather than take the risk of driving under the influence. But I know enough about addictive behavior and I've known enough addicts, active and recovering, to get a sense of how this plays itself out.