NY - 8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway #3

[Lamima]

Can someone be slipped an Ambien? I wish they had tested her for it.

 

[zippitydoda]

The posts in the threads on this subject are an eye opener for me. IMO- some people can so easily accept that a man can be a monster from the get go, perhaps based upon their arrest or innuendo, but a women, who caused a head on motor vehicle crash that killed seven innocent people, (four from her own family) and was then lab tested and proven to be DUI, more that 2 times the legal limit, with more alcohol in her stomach that had not been absorbed, and had high levels of THC in her system, must have had something else happen to her (ambien, tooth abscess, death rays from mars shined into her eyes) to cause this act. For me, its simply Occam's razor - "among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected". She got herself exceedingly and purposely very drunk, and then continued to drive in circles, and avoided other family members, until she caused this horrific act. She did this for her own reason, and she took that reason to her grave.

 

[Nova]

zip, I don't know if you were referring to my post (among others) or not. I assure you Diane's gender has nothing to do with my hypotheses in this case.

But we have no testimony that indicates DS was in the habit of being that drunk so early in the morning. So it's only natural that we wonder why she got that way on a morning when she had a long drive in a van full of children ahead of her. (Myself, I never have a single drink when I am responsible for my niece, nephew or grandchildren, whether or not I am driving. It simply wouldn't occur to me.)

To me, at least, such speculation isn't intended to absolve DS; it's just a mystery, as you say. And some of us are trying to find a reasonable answer to that mystery.

 

[hot cawfeee]

Someone (it may have been Susan Cheever) wrote an article about how Moms are placed on pedestles and people cannot ever believe that a "mother would do such a thing" .
I think Diane was an alcoholic and habitual pot smoker and was working off a hell of a hangover. I think she and Danny fought the night before and she "dropped the hammer" (expression from my youth) and got really drunk.

I wonder how old the scrip for Ambien was? And how many renewals she was able to have as per her insurance. Would she have gone out of network ? musing that in my head......an issue of privacy versus spending more money .........

 

[rob]

My opinion is that people who get drunk and smoke pot, don't make good decisions. Dianne made a very bad one, and now two families have to live with that.

 

[Isabelle]

I have always felt she might have had a couple of Four Locos, still on the market at the time. A mix of caffeine and alcohol, nothing strange would show on the autopsy.

 

[AlwaysShocked]

Four Loko is a canned malt beverage - like beer. She would have had to drink a whole lot of them to attain the blood alcohol level she had!

 

[rob]

Four Loko is a canned malt beverage - like beer. She would have had to drink a whole lot of them to attain the blood alcohol level she had!

what about that huge bottle of vodka she had in the van? she didn't carry it up front for no reason.

 

[Isabelle]

Four Loko is a canned malt beverage - like beer. She would have had to drink a whole lot of them to attain the blood alcohol level she had!

Four Loko had a very high amount of caffeine that affected the impact the alcohol had on the body. There may be a newer Four Loko on the market now, but the original was banned and removed.

ETA: a look up on the ingredients of the original Four Loko will provide you with interesting information, for one it contained 12.5% alcohol if not more.

 

[zippitydoda]

zip, I don't know if you were referring to my post (among others) or not. I assure you Diane's gender has nothing to do with my hypotheses in this case.

But we have no testimony that indicates DS was in the habit of being that drunk so early in the morning. So it's only natural that we wonder why she got that way on a morning when she had a long drive in a van full of children ahead of her. (Myself, I never have a single drink when I am responsible for my niece, nephew or grandchildren, whether or not I am driving. It simply wouldn't occur to me.)

To me, at least, such speculation isn't intended to absolve DS; it's just a mystery, as you say. And some of us are trying to find a reasonable answer to that mystery.

Hello Nova,

Not your post in particular - there are many, many posts with alternative theories.

IMO - The facts are that she was a proven drunk driver, with high levels of THC also in her system, and that this accident was caused all due to her driving.

The mystery is why she chose to get so very drunk (2 x's the legal limit, with more undigested alcohol in her stomach) and high, while driving 5 children (her own family) around and caused this horrific accident.

IMO - If there was any possibility, other than her exceedingly high DWI levels of alcohol, those who came out early to deny her even being a drinker or a user of pot, they would have claimed ambien or some prescribed drug. They never did IIRC.

 

[bluesneakers]

Four Loko had a very high amount of caffeine that affected the impact the alcohol had on the body. There may be a newer Four Loko on the market now, but the original was banned and removed.

ETA: a look up on the ingredients of the original Four Loko will provide you with interesting information, for one it contained 12.5% alcohol if not more.

The pre-banning Four Loko could really mess you up. I was never able to finish a whole can and I'm no lightweight. If she drank that mixed with Ambien she would have been flying and zooming. Scary to think about.

 

[AlwaysShocked]

If the vodka was 80 proof, which is about the minimum for run of the mill vodkas, that means it is 40% alcohol. As the proof goes higher, so does the percentage of alcohol.

 

[MzOpinion8d]

I still want to know where her husband really was the night before. Supposedly he went to the campground early but his toll pass indicates a different story.

 

[Jmoose]

Her husband is full of it-and you'll never know where he was and what he was doing. He is probably the one who obtained the pot they smoked; I don't have any evidence, but I think he is the one who did-when would his wife have had time to do it?

 

[Jmoose]

what about that huge bottle of vodka she had in the van? she didn't carry it up front for no reason.

Right-unless I was planning to drink the vodka, it'd be packed away (open container law, and all that)-it would never be up front with me

 

[StephanieH]

Right-unless I was planning to drink the vodka, it'd be packed away (open container law, and all that)-it would never be up front with me

In all honesty, we don't *know* the vodka was up front with her. We are talking about a car wreck that was so bad it killed 8 people and the car was on fire. The vodka bottle was found in the wreckage. Likely that she was drinking from it? Absolutely.
Stephen King's new book of short stories ("Bazaar of Bad Dreams") has a story in it about the Diane Schuler case. If the story is any indicator, he believes it was a murder/suicide. (The story is "Herman Wouk Is Still Alive". It IS available online by googling the title...it was in the Atlantic originally). I really have trouble believing she would commit suicide with her nieces in the car. I guess I find it more believable that she could have with just her kids, since her husband said he never wanted kids and she could have believed they were better off without her. But I don't know why she would have killed her brother's kids...they were allegedly close and had no issues.
I DO believe her brother knew more as well, but I honestly don't think he remotely believed his daughters were in danger.

 

[MzOpinion8d]

In all honesty, we don't *know* the vodka was up front with her. We are talking about a car wreck that was so bad it killed 8 people and the car was on fire. The vodka bottle was found in the wreckage. Likely that she was drinking from it? Absolutely.
Stephen King's new book of short stories ("Bazaar of Bad Dreams") has a story in it about the Diane Schuler case. If the story is any indicator, he believes it was a murder/suicide. (The story is "Herman Wouk Is Still Alive". It IS available online by googling the title...it was in the Atlantic originally). I really have trouble believing she would commit suicide with her nieces in the car. I guess I find it more believable that she could have with just her kids, since her husband said he never wanted kids and she could have believed they were better off without her. But I don't know why she would have killed her brother's kids...they were allegedly close and had no issues.
I DO believe her brother knew more as well, but I honestly don't think he remotely believed his daughters were in danger.

The vodka bottle was found under the front passenger seat, and she had 180 mL (6 oz) of undigested vodka in her stomach at the autopsy. She was definitely consuming the alcohol as she drove, without question.

 

[MzOpinion8d]

In all honesty, we don't *know* the vodka was up front with her. We are talking about a car wreck that was so bad it killed 8 people and the car was on fire. The vodka bottle was found in the wreckage. Likely that she was drinking from it? Absolutely.
Stephen King's new book of short stories ("Bazaar of Bad Dreams") has a story in it about the Diane Schuler case. If the story is any indicator, he believes it was a murder/suicide. (The story is "Herman Wouk Is Still Alive". It IS available online by googling the title...it was in the Atlantic originally). I really have trouble believing she would commit suicide with her nieces in the car. I guess I find it more believable that she could have with just her kids, since her husband said he never wanted kids and she could have believed they were better off without her. But I don't know why she would have killed her brother's kids...they were allegedly close and had no issues.
I DO believe her brother knew more as well, but I honestly don't think he remotely believed his daughters were in danger.

Killing her nieces is what makes me wonder about a fugue state due to the ingestion of multiple substances, because I agree with you that it seems highly unlikely that she would do so. The book written by the Bastardi family suggests some possible family issues but nothing is confirmed. If she had taken Ambien on top of the alcohol and marijuana the night before, maybe she really was in a bizarre fugue state and unaware of her actions.

 

[Jmoose]

In all honesty, we don't *know* the vodka was up front with her. We are talking about a car wreck that was so bad it killed 8 people and the car was on fire. The vodka bottle was found in the wreckage. Likely that she was drinking from it? Absolutely.
Stephen King's new book of short stories ("Bazaar of Bad Dreams") has a story in it about the Diane Schuler case. If the story is any indicator, he believes it was a murder/suicide. (The story is "Herman Wouk Is Still Alive". It IS available online by googling the title...it was in the Atlantic originally). I really have trouble believing she would commit suicide with her nieces in the car. I guess I find it more believable that she could have with just her kids, since her husband said he never wanted kids and she could have believed they were better off without her. But I don't know why she would have killed her brother's kids...they were allegedly close and had no issues.
I DO believe her brother knew more as well, but I honestly don't think he remotely believed his daughters were in danger.

You are right, of course

 

[U2forever]

>snipped<

Stephen King's new book of short stories ("Bazaar of Bad Dreams") has a story in it about the Diane Schuler case. If the story is any indicator, he believes it was a murder/suicide. (The story is "Herman Wouk Is Still Alive". It IS available online by googling the title...it was in the Atlantic originally). I really have trouble believing she would commit suicide with her nieces in the car. I guess I find it more believable that she could have with just her kids, since her husband said he never wanted kids and she could have believed they were better off without her. But I don't know why she would have killed her brother's kids...they were allegedly close and had no issues.
I DO believe her brother knew more as well, but I honestly don't think he remotely believed his daughters were in danger.

Stephanie, thanks for Stephen King info. I have been interested in this case from the beginning and I recently watched the HBO documentary again last week.

As for Diane's husband, I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the weeks/months after the accident.