8 Die in Crash on Taconic State Parkway #2

[fran]

Jun 29, 8:31 PM EDT
Probe: NY driver speeding before wrong-way crash


WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- The woman blamed for a wrong-way crash that killed eight people on a New York highway last summer was going 85 mph when she slammed into an SUV, state police said Tuesday.

The SUV also was speeding, at 74 mph, they said. The speed limit was 55 mph.

The July 26 crash on the Taconic Parkway in Westchester County, north of New York City, killed Diane Schuler, who was driving the van, her daughter, three nieces and three men in the other vehicle. Schuler's 5-year-old son survived.

The crash - and how Schuler could race against highway traffic with a vanload of frightened children - intrigued the nation and was featured on TV talk shows for months.

....................................snip.......................................

The finding that the Bastardis' SUV also was speeding could mean that Longo's family has a claim against Guy Bastardi's estate as well as Schuler's estate. But Michael Archer, accident reconstructionist for Longo's attorneys, said Tuesday that no decision on suing has been made.

Michael Bastardi Jr., son of Michael Bastardi and brother of Guy Bastardi, said: "There has never been any mention made of neglect on my brother's part. It would be ridiculous to claim he contributed to this tragedy."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<full article at link>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WRONG_WAY_CRASH?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

 

[SleuthyMama]

Not that I really expected the conclusion of the investigation to make me feel "all better," but reading it just makes me feel so sad all over again.

It was just such a complete tragedy that didn't have to happen. Ugh.

 

[quiqui]

So sad for all involved. I shivered a little bit after reading how fast both cars were going. Speeding like that is so common on the Taconic...even all the way to the right going 55-65 feels like you are being run over. I can't imagine how the little boy survived!

 

[jjenny]

So sad for all involved. I shivered a little bit after reading how fast both cars were going. Speeding like that is so common on the Taconic...even all the way to the right going 55-65 feels like you are being run over. I can't imagine how the little boy survived!

Well the woman was going the wrong way so I think that had a lot more to do with the collision then the supposed speeding of the other guy.

 

[quiqui]

Well the woman was going the wrong way so I think that had a lot more to do with the collision then the supposed speeding of the other guy.

Oh definitely! I never meant to imply the other driver was doing anything to cause the accident. I'm sorry if it came across that way.

 

[southcitymom]

Yeah - here in Atlanta - people driving 70 and 80+ in a 55 zone is just not in the least bit unusual. That said - it was the wrong way driving and not the speeding that led to this terrible accident.

Even if both cars had been traveling at 55, I think the results would have been the same.

My continued prayers for all of these families.

 

[jjenny]

Yeah - here in Atlanta - people driving 70 and 80+ in a 55 zone is just not in the least bit unusual. That said - it was the wrong way driving and not the speeding that led to this terrible accident.

Even if both cars had been traveling at 55, I think the results would have been the same.

My continued prayers for all of these families.

How accurate would those supposed speed numbers even be?
If the numbers were calculated based on the damage to the cars I presume the numbers are open to debate.

 

[southcitymom]

How accurate would those supposed speed numbers even be?
If the numbers were calculated based on the damage to the cars I presume the numbers are open to debate.

I agree with you 100%.

 

[IWannaKnow]

After reading some of those articles, I am going to have to jump on the murder/suicide wagon. Sounds to me like she snapped, made her decision then started drinking/smoking to get the courage up to go through with it. The statements that she refused to speak to her mother since she "abandoned" the family were what sealed the deal for me. I think she was unhappy and saw divorce as abandoning her children. I doubt she thought much about the people in the other cars. The confusing thing are her nieces, but I guess once you've made up your mind, there is no turning back. I think the vomiting on the side of the road was nerves - as much as vodka....All this is MY OPINION only based on the articles linked above!!

I would like to know how Saturday at the campground went with Diane and hubby....I don't remember seeing anything written about that aspect of it.

 

[IWannaKnow]

I've recently started studying Enneagram Personality Types, and I think Danny is definitely a 9:
http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/TypeNine.asp

"Nines demonstrate the universal temptation to ignore the disturbing aspects of life and to seek some degree of peace and comfort by &#8220;numbing out.&#8221; They respond to pain and suffering by attempting to live in a state of premature peacefulness, whether it is in a state of false spiritual attainment, or in more gross denial. More than any other type, Nines demonstrate the tendency to run away from the paradoxes and tensions of life by attempting to transcend them or be seeking find simple and painless solutions to their problems."
~much more at link ~

Nines typically marry certain other types who will take care of all their needs.....

 

[twinkiesmom]

This case makes me so, so, so sad. My heart goes out to all the families who lost loved ones that day.

But really, the ONLY person responsible is already deceased. I really don't understand how blaming those left behind will help. How will it help anyone to know if Diane did drugs or drank regularly? It won't explain what happened that day.

Such a sad situation.

Some people sue in cases like this just to be able to get to the truth by being able to depose the witnesses under oath. They may not get the whole truth in this case, but they may get more answers such as what was said during those final calls.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Some people sue in cases like this just to be able to get to the truth by being able to depose the witnesses under oath. They may not get the whole truth in this case, but they may get more answers such as what was said during those final calls.

The phone calls...those are at the crux of this matter, I believe. What in the world set that woman off that day? Apparently something was emotionally traumatic to her and she was hellbent on taking it out on anyone and everyone...she didn't care who got in the way, IMO.

 

[AlwaysShocked]

I would hope that depositions for the lawsuit will force the whole truth of the phone calls out of Diane's brother and Diane's sister-in-law, to whom she also spoke.

The call that was cut off lasted over two minutes. Two minutes is a long time in terms of a conversation, yet not much of the substance of the call has ever been revealed.

The parents of the three dead children owe those children, along with the families of the other dead, the unvarnished truth.

Also, sometimes going back and reading the early published reports of an event can provide information. This was reported shortly after the "accident" but before the toxicology tests were known:
"
Doomed Long Island mom Diane Schuler drove erratically for more than 60 miles before she crashed while going in the wrong direction on the Taconic State Parkway, witnesses have told police.

Schuler wove in and out of traffic, straddled two lanes, tailgated other vehicles, flashed her lights, and honked her horn on the roads leading up to the Taconic, the witnesses reported. She even used the shoulder to pass other cars for miles before turning the wrong way onto the highway, state police said.

Schuler, 36, plowed her minivan head-on into an SUV after inexplicably driving south on the north-bound Taconic on July 26 near Briarcliff Manor, killing eight people, including four children.

Strangely, witnesses who saw her on the Taconic reported no such erratic behavior - aside from going the wrong way - in her final 1.7-mile death drive.

State police said while they can't be absolutely certain the driver was Schuler, the description of the vehicle and occupants and the time the incidents were reported "lead them to believe they are one in the same."

Cops and family members are still baffled about what made Schuler drive so recklessly. An autopsy revealed she was in good health. Toxicology tests are pending.

Investigators believe Schuler started driving dangerously on Route 17 as she left Sullivan County where the family was had been camping. Her husband, Daniel Schuler, told investigators he and his wife left the campground at around 9:30 a.m. the day of the crash is separate cars. He was going straight home to West Babylon, L.I., while she was stopping for breakfast with the kids.

She was fine when they left the campground, Daniel Schuler said.

She stopped at a McDonald's restaurant near Liberty, N.Y., and then recklessly continued to Interstate 87."


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local..._schuler_drove_erratically.html#ixzz0skikCgRj

 

[Fairy1]

Some people sue in cases like this just to be able to get to the truth by being able to depose the witnesses under oath. They may not get the whole truth in this case, but they may get more answers such as what was said during those final calls.

I understand their need for answers, I really do. But, IMO, whatever was said in those phone calls or whatever transpired prior to the accident was not directly responsible for the accident itself. IMO, Diane and only Diane was responsible. And she is gone.

I just don't see how pursuing it any further will help. It's not going to bring back those who were killed that day and I just feel those left behind have suffered enough. What amount of money would be enough to let it go?

 

[southcitymom]

Some people sue in cases like this just to be able to get to the truth by being able to depose the witnesses under oath. They may not get the whole truth in this case, but they may get more answers such as what was said during those final calls.

Great point - you are absolutely right.

 

[southcitymom]

The phone calls...those are at the crux of this matter, I believe. What in the world set that woman off that day? Apparently something was emotionally traumatic to her and she was hellbent on taking it out on anyone and everyone...she didn't care who got in the way, IMO.

Do you think that all the people who are aware of what was said in those phone conversations are hiding or covering up some big obvious explanation?

I don't believe the calls will shed any real light on her "motive" - though I understand the families wanting to know about them.

 

[IWannaKnow]

I understand their need for answers, I really do. But, IMO, whatever was said in those phone calls or whatever transpired prior to the accident was not directly responsible for the accident itself. IMO, Diane and only Diane was responsible. And she is gone.

I just don't see how pursuing it any further will help. It's not going to bring back those who were killed that day and I just feel those left behind have suffered enough. What amount of money would be enough to let it go?

We see this differently, Fairy. I think that what went on while camping, and the related trip home are what triggered Diane - although I completely agree that what she did is hers to own, no one else, even if her husband was the spark that lit that stick of dynamite. But if I were the family of the other people killed, I would want to know what started this catastrophic chain of events. And I guess I believe that the phone calls probably hold the key to the answer - the phone calls or Danny, and he doesn't believe anything was wrong. For example, the fact that Diane thought her brother was Danny....for instance, if that phone call went something like this:"Shut up Danny. I'm sick of you and your crap" when the brother was trying to get information about where she was and what was wrong....and the family is simply interpreting that as Diane was sick, confused, toothache clouding her thinking....etc, etc. etc.. When in fact, she was crocked out of her head trying to get the courage up to do what she was planning, and was thinking she was telling Danny off instead of talking to her brother. That, to me, could indicate a motive. MHOO. :twocents:

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Do you think that all the people who are aware of what was said in those phone conversations are hiding or covering up some big obvious explanation?

I don't believe the calls will shed any real light on her "motive" - though I understand the families wanting to know about them.

I have seen very little written about the happenings during this camping trip at all - and I do believe that whatever happened that weekend along with the content of those phone calls needs to be brought to light. Something set this woman off and she was going to make someone pay for whatever it was. I understand being emotionally overwrought, but I cannot get into the mindset of driving a van loaded with innocent kids while in that state of impairment and then......you know....This woman was totally over the edge with anger and resentment and innocent persons paid the price.

So, to answer your question, yes, I certainly do believe that they are covering up a lot regarding the camping trip, the phone calls and this woman's whole persona. (Those kids had to be begging her to slow down or stop - who could inflict that kind of terror, especially on their own kids and family members?) She had to be so furious about something to act with such rage!

 

[southcitymom]

I have seen very little written about the happenings during this camping trip at all - and I do believe that whatever happened that weekend along with the content of those phone calls needs to be brought to light. Something set this woman off and she was going to make someone pay for whatever it was. I understand being emotionally overwrought, but I cannot get into the mindset of driving a van loaded with innocent kids while in that state of impairment and then......you know....This woman was totally over the edge with anger and resentment and innocent persons paid the price.

So, to answer your question, yes, I certainly do believe that they are covering up a lot regarding the camping trip, the phone calls and this woman's whole persona. (Those kids had to be begging her to slow down or stop - who could inflict that kind of terror, especially on their own kids and family members?) She had to be so furious about something to act with such rage!

I hear you, Blondie. I think you and I just have fundamentally different interpretations of what happened. I've yet to see any indication that she was filled with anger and resentment. I don't consider this case to be a murder-suicide. I do believe that this woman's substance abuse issues were more progressed than those closest to her realized.

You are right, of course, that many lives were lost as a result of her choice to drink and smoke that morning. Heartbreaking.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Hey SCM...

Thanks for the reply and yes..I do agree with you totally. I absolutely believe that she had a very advanced substance abuse problem which they are desperate to cover up at any cost. I really never bought into the murder/suicide theory until I read about how others on the road perceived her. She sounded downright scary!

I have mentioned before that I went thru years of addiction to prescription pain pills. Even on my worst day, never in my life have I driven in such a manner as to honk the horn, flash my lights, tailgating, driving down the wrong way, etc. I just get the feeling that something happened and she figured "to he77 with it, everybody knows now, it's all over, might as well end it all". I really don't know, it's just a gut feeling I have. We've all been emotionally distraught at times - I believe that she was on that day and the pot combined with vodka only exacerbated it to the worst level possible.