Eight people killed :blink:
I can't understand how someone could possibly get on the freeway going the wrong way and not immediately realize it. Then again, I have never driven on the Taconic Parkway (though had driven through the area many times), and my dad told me once it was a total piece of crap that should be avoided at all costs.
QuoteBefore Taconic crash, mom Diane Schuler told brother she wasn't feeling well
BY Samuel Goldsmith
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Updated Monday, July 27th 2009, 1:14 PM
The driver who went the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway Sunday night causing a horrific crash called her brother two hours earlier to tell him she didn't feel well, police revealed Monday.
Diane Schuler, 36, of West Babylon called her brother, Warren Hance, as she drove home from a camping trip in Sullivan County with her two children and Hance's three daughters.
Hance, who lives in Floral Park and owns the Ford minivan, told his sister to pull over and wait for him to come pick them up, police said, but Schuler kept driving.
She entered the north-bound Taconic at Pleasantville Road just after 1 p.m. and drove south for almost two miles before smashing into an oncoming Chevy SUV carrying three people.
Everyone died except for Schuler's 5-year-old son Brian, who is in stable condition at Westchester Medical Center.
"At this point in our investigation, we do not know what caused the operator of the minivan to travel the wrong way," said Michael Realmuto, a captain with the State Police. "We are awaiting autopsy reports and toxicology reports."
"She called her brother because she just wasn't feeling well," added Office James Murphy, who is leading the investigation. "It was obvious that something was wrong because her brother did state he would come get them," he said.
Schuler's passengers were identified as her daughter, Erin Schuler, 2, and her nieces, Emma Hance, 9, Alison Hance, 7, and Kate Hance, 5.
Police said at least six separate witnesses called 911 to report a van driving the wrong way on the Taconic on Sunday.
Several drivers passing Schuler flashed their lights and honked to get her attention.
Police identified the three victims in the SUV as Guy Bastardi, 49, his father, Michael Bastardi, 81 and Daniel Longo.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/07/27/2009-07-27_before_taconic_crash_mom_diane_schuler_told_brother_she_wasnt_feeling_well.html#ixzz0MTzU7zLL
This is so sad. :( I can't imagine the heartache and horrors the families are going through.
I was going to post this and make a joke about women drivers, but then the thought of four children dying kind of stopped me from doing that. Something must've been seriously wrong with her head to drive two miles the wrong way.
Quote from: DGuller on July 27, 2009, 01:22:04 PM
I was going to post this and make a joke about women drivers, but then the thought of four children dying kind of stopped me from doing that. Something must've been seriously wrong with her head to drive two miles the wrong way.
The woman driver joke crossed my mind too, and I knew eventually someone would make the reference. -_-
Talk about hell on earth for the brother of that woman driver. He loses three children, and his sister is the one who went out of her way to accomplish that. How can you keep on living after something like that happens?
So, people flashed their lights and honked at her, and she just kept driving?
Was she trying to commit suicide?
Yeah, especially as he actually told her to pull over (i.e. he sensed the problem). The guilt must be overwhelming. :(
Anyway, is the Taconic Parkway really a total piece of crap then, as my dad says? I wonder if maybe the ramps aren't marked very well. There was an onramp for 495 near Worcester, Mass. that I recall being marked fairly poorly, but I never came close to actually getting on via the offramp.
Quote from: Siege on July 27, 2009, 01:40:46 PM
So, people flashed their lights and honked at her, and she just kept driving?
Was she trying to commit suicide?
Given the details we know, I don't think that's possible. I think she must have been having some sort of a psychological episode but didn't intend for this to happen.
I'm just gonna go ahead and slip this story into the thread, since it seems to fit the subject perfectly. This sounds like that rare defendant who can actually successfully employ an insanity defense.
QuotePolice: Woman accused of killing newborn ate brain
By PAUL J. WEBER (AP) – 8 minutes ago
SAN ANTONIO — A woman charged with murdering her 3 1/2-week-old son used a knife and two swords to dismember the child and ate parts of his body, including his brain, before stabbing herself in the torso and slicing her own throat, police said Monday.
Otty Sanchez, 33, is charged with capital murder in the death of her infant son, Scott Wesley Buchholtz-Sanchez. She was recovering from her wounds at a hospital, and was being held on $1 million bail.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the early Sunday morning attack occurred a week after the child's father moved out. Otty Sanchez's sister and her sister's two children, ages 5 and 7, were in the house, but none were harmed.
Otty Sanchez's aunt, Gloria Sanchez, said her niece had been "in and out" of a psychiatric ward, and that the hospital called several months ago looking to check up on her. She did not elaborate on the nature of her niece's health problems.
"Otty didn't mean to do that. She was not in her right mind," a sobbing Gloria Sanchez told The Associated Press on Monday by phone. She said her family was devastated.
McManus, who appeared uncomfortable as he addressed reporters, said Sanchez apparently ate the child's brain and some other body parts. She also decapitated the infant, tore off his face and chewed off three of his toes before stabbing herself.
"It's too heinous for me to describe it any further," McManus said.
McManus described the crime scene as so grisly that police officers barely spoke to each other while looking through the house. Parts of the child were missing, including pieces that Sanchez allegedly ate.
"At this particular scene you could have heard a pin drop," McManus said. "No one was speaking. It was about as somber as it could have been."
Officers called to Sanchez's house at about 5 a.m. Sunday found her sitting on the couch screaming "I killed my baby! I killed my baby!" McManus said. They found the boy's body in a bedroom.
Police said Sanchez said the devil told her to kill her son and that she was hearing voices.
"It was a spontaneous utterance," McManus said.
Police said Sanchez did not have an attorney, and they declined to identify family members who might speak on her behalf.
No one answered the door Monday at Sanchez's one-story home, where the blinds were shut. A hopscotch pattern and red hearts were drawn on the walk leading up to the house.
Neighbor Luis Yanez, 23, said his kids went to school with one of the small children who lived at the house. He said he often saw a woman playing outside with the children but didn't know whether it was Otty.
"Why would you do that to your baby?" said Yanez, a tire technician. "It brings chills to you. They can't defend themselves."
Authorities said Sanchez and her sister took turns watching the baby Sunday morning, and that the boy was placed in Sanchez's care at about 1:30 a.m. Her sister discovered what happened about three hours later and called police.
Investigators are looking into whether postpartum depression could have played a role in the attack, McManus said. Authorities said they were looking into Sanchez's mental health history to see if there was anything "significant" but did not elaborate.
Associated Press researcher Susan James contributed to this report from New York.
QuoteOtty Sanchez's aunt, Gloria Sanchez, said her niece had been "in and out" of a psychiatric ward
I love how psyhiatric wards are not allowed to hold the insane against their will. Of course as soon as somebody says 'I think I do have some problems, I probably should not be allowed out in public unsupervised' they are probably not insane anymore.
Screw you, Caliga, I paid a lot of money for that lunch that I just lost.
Quote from: DGuller on July 27, 2009, 02:24:39 PM
Screw you, Caliga, I paid a lot of money for that lunch that I just lost.
If you convert to the Church of the Holy Gas Station Cafe, your food will cost less and taste better. :pope:
Oh man, that second story is so nasty.... :huh: Yeah, has to be an actual insanity case, unlike the ones where the defendant wishes he/she could plead that way.
Quote from: KRonn on July 27, 2009, 02:32:42 PM
Oh man, that second story is so nasty.... :huh: Yeah, has to be an actual insanity case, unlike the ones where the defendant wishes he/she could plead that way.
Yes, it's so far out of the ballpark that I don't think 'Satan', I think :cthulu:
P.S. kat doesn't know how to spell 'cthulhu'. <_<
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 02:25:30 PM
Quote from: DGuller on July 27, 2009, 02:24:39 PM
Screw you, Caliga, I paid a lot of money for that lunch that I just lost.
If you convert to the Church of the Holy Gas Station Cafe, your food will cost less and taste better. :pope:
Hey, they could just grill his lunch up and serve it to him
again. No-one would know the difference. ;)
Quote from: Malthus on July 27, 2009, 02:38:30 PM
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 02:25:30 PM
Quote from: DGuller on July 27, 2009, 02:24:39 PM
Screw you, Caliga, I paid a lot of money for that lunch that I just lost.
If you convert to the Church of the Holy Gas Station Cafe, your food will cost less and taste better. :pope:
Hey, they could just grill his lunch up and serve it to him again. No-one would know the difference. ;)
:lmfao:
Malthus, nobody expects the Kentucky Inquisition. :menace:
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 02:40:11 PM
Malthus, nobody expects the Kentucky Inquisition. :menace:
I outrank you.
Quote from: DGuller on July 27, 2009, 02:24:39 PM
Screw you, Caliga, I paid a lot of money for that lunch that I just lost.
I ate my lunch as I read that story...then I felt odd that I'd managed to still be hungry. -_-
Quote from: garbon on July 27, 2009, 02:44:05 PM
I ate my lunch as I read that story...then I felt odd that I'd managed to still be hungry. -_-
Maybe you have a little Syt in you.
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 02:44:43 PM
Maybe you have a little Syt in you.
Well, I was eating a salad. :goodboy:
Totally sick story Cal. :(
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 02:44:43 PM
Quote from: garbon on July 27, 2009, 02:44:05 PM
I ate my lunch as I read that story...then I felt odd that I'd managed to still be hungry. -_-
Maybe you have a little Syt in you.
Not possible - Syt is still posting.
I'm glad that the double meaning of my little joke was appreciated. :)
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 02:56:56 PM
I'm glad that the double meaning of my little joke was appreciated. :)
I'm just sorry we have genuine brain-eating action happening and I haven't been able to figure out a zombie joke angle. :(
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 01:43:19 PM
Quote from: Siege on July 27, 2009, 01:40:46 PM
So, people flashed their lights and honked at her, and she just kept driving?
Was she trying to commit suicide?
Given the details we know, I don't think that's possible. I think she must have been having some sort of a psychological episode but didn't intend for this to happen.
Psychological episode?
Like what?
Being depressed because her husband left her with two kids?
By the way, there is no mention of her husband.
Who's the guy?
Did he die in Iraq?
That would change everything.
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 02:56:56 PM
I'm glad that the double meaning of my little joke was appreciated. :)
Triple meaning. Don't forget the sexual reading.
Quote from: Siege on July 28, 2009, 12:30:45 AM
By the way, there is no mention of her husband.
Who's the guy?
Did he die in Iraq?
That would change everything.
Actually, that would still explain nothing.
Dying in Iraq =/= Baby-eating
Quote from: Tonitrus on July 28, 2009, 01:01:49 AM
Quote from: Siege on July 28, 2009, 12:30:45 AM
By the way, there is no mention of her husband.
Who's the guy?
Did he die in Iraq?
That would change everything.
Actually, that would still explain nothing.
Dying in Iraq =/= Baby-eating
I meant the car crashing woman, not the baby eating one in Caliga's self hijack.
It would change nothing.
Quote from: Siege on July 28, 2009, 12:30:45 AM
Psychological episode?
I mean something more like she was delusional or hallucinating.
Quote from: Siege on July 28, 2009, 12:30:45 AM
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 01:43:19 PM
Quote from: Siege on July 27, 2009, 01:40:46 PM
So, people flashed their lights and honked at her, and she just kept driving?
Was she trying to commit suicide?
Given the details we know, I don't think that's possible. I think she must have been having some sort of a psychological episode but didn't intend for this to happen.
Psychological episode?
Like what?
Being depressed because her husband left her with two kids?
By the way, there is no mention of her husband.
Who's the guy?
Did he die in Iraq?
That would change everything.
Good that you are infertile, so your wife doesn't drive your kids off the cliff when you finally get shot in Iraq.
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 02:19:35 PM<baby killing>
Yeah, I saw this yesterday morning/Sunday night. Absolutely fucking nuts. Apparently, at least some of the SAPD guys who went in there and saw all of it are, understandably, pretty messed up by the whole thing.
Edit:
Quote
While the San Antonio Police Department works to understand why a 33-year-old woman would decapitate and mutilate her 4-week-old baby Sunday, police officers are struggling to cope with horrific images they witnessed at the crime scene.
"I would say that it's a very, very sad day in San Antonio given the atrocity of this incident," Chief William McManus said Monday morning. "I would say it's a very, very sad day in the Police Department among those officers who had to investigate this."
The chief said the Police Department has provided counseling services for some of the officers who witnessed the crime scene.
"It just goes to the atrocity and the unspeakable tragedy of this event," he said.
McManus said Otty Sanchez remained hospitalized Monday under 24-hour watch at University Hospital with multiple self-inflicted stab wounds, including a cut to her throat. The wounds aren't believed to be life threatening, he said.
Sanchez was charged by proxy late Sunday with capital murder. Bond was set at $1 million.
"When police arrived at the scene she was hysterical screaming, 'I killed my baby. I killed my baby,'" McManus said.
Police said Sanchez also told them that she was "hearing voices" and that the devil made her kill Scott Wesley Buchholtz Sanchez, to whom she gave birth on June 30.
McManus confirmed that Sanchez confessed to ingesting parts of the child's body. Police said the baby's brain, nose and toes were among the parts eaten.
"The mother mutilated the body," the chief said. "She ate portions of it in addition to mutilation. Apparently, she spent a fair amount of time doing it. There were body parts missing that she had ingested. She had opened up the child's head and, you know, it's too heinous for even me to describe it any further than I just have."
Police are looking at Sanchez's past to try to piece together the events leading up to the slaying. Detectives also have confirmed that she had a history of mental health problems, but police have not yet elaborated.
"We're really just trying to understand what would motivate someone to do something like this," said Lt. Al Trevino.
The brutal crime unfolded in a single-story home in the 300 block of Wayside Drive, where police were called just before 5 a.m. According to police, Sanchez lives in the North Side home with her sister and the sister's two children, and Sanchez's mother stays in a small, separate structure behind the house.
Police spokesman Joe Rios said Sanchez used a steak knife to repeatedly stab the baby, then decapitate and mutilate him, Rios said. A police source said the baby also was skinned and gutted.
Neighbor Elaine Colchin said that just months ago, she was cleaning out her garage when Sanchez's mother stopped by and asked for a discarded baby bed.
"I gave it to her, and she was so happy, she was going to paint it for her new grandson," Colchin said. "It was a family bed — my daughter, son and husband all used it; now it turned out to be a nightmare."
It was Sanchez's mother who called police Sunday. She told them her daughter woke her up around 4:30 a.m. She said she saw her daughter sitting with the boy. He had been decapitated, a police report said. Sanchez's mother took the baby, put him on a bed and called police, according to the report.
When police arrived, Sanchez was sitting on a couch, yelling, "I killed my baby. I want to die," the report said.
An officer found the child's body lying in blood on a bed next to the knife, believed to be the weapon used in the killing, and two swords, which Rios said were not involved in the death. Authorities were seen carrying two bags out of the home, and officials on the scene confirmed that they contained the baby's remains.
Colchin was surprised to hear that Sanchez, who brought her baby across the street for a visit last week, is a suspect in the infant's death, though she admits Sanchez sometimes appeared a bit odd.
"She was never aggressive; always sweet," Colchin said. "She did seem to be living in a world of her own, but she must have been deranged. I feel so sorry for that baby, the little angel."
Rios said Sanchez did not have a criminal history related to mental illness, but police will investigate that further, and the district attorney's office will handle how Sanchez's mental state affected her actions.
There was one police report on file, from May 2008, when Sanchez's mother called police to report that Sanchez went to Austin and didn't return. In the report, the mother told police she believed that Sanchez went to Austin to use drugs and that Sanchez was not suffering from mental issues.
The two children of Sanchez's sister were home at the time of the baby's death and were not injured.
Rios said initial information showed that the baby was Sanchez's only child. The baby's father, who did not live with Sanchez, was notified.
The baby's paternal grandmother, Kathleen Buchholz, said was unaware that Sanchez suffered from any mental illness. She said she's conflicted now about what should happen with Sanchez.
"I haven't worked that out yet," she said. "I have mixed emotions... I love her. She was like a daughter. I don't want her out at this point but that may change."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/51796152.html
I almost think this woman should be euthanized as a mercy killing. What the hell is she going to do with herself after this?
Quote from: Siege on July 28, 2009, 12:30:45 AM
Psychological episode?
Like what?
Being depressed because her husband left her with two kids?
By the way, there is no mention of her husband.
Who's the guy?
Did he die in Iraq?
That would change everything.
....
Let's say you had some children Siege...lets say your wife dies in childbirth...are you then going to be justified in eating the other children?
QuoteRios said initial information showed that the baby was Sanchez's only child. The baby's father, who did not live with Sanchez, was notified.
Considering the crazy woman who had been to a mental institution got custody he must be a piece of work.
I am always a little annoyed that when a woman kills her children, the perception seems to be she was a victim or deranged or just very very sad. Awww poor murderer. If a man killed his children no matter what the circumstances the lethal injection would be awaiting. That one woman who killed what a couple years ago? Six of her children? And she didn't get the DP because she was mentally ill poor baby.
Val, Seige's response was to me about the driver who killed 8 people in New York. I can see how this has become confusing as we're now simultaneously discussing two crazy moms here.
Quote from: Valmy on July 28, 2009, 09:09:10 AM
Considering the crazy woman who had been to a mental institution got custody he must be a piece of work.
I am always a little annoyed that when a woman kills her children, the perception seems to be she was a victim or deranged or just very very sad. Awww poor murderer. If a man killed his children no matter what the circumstances the lethal injection would be awaiting. That one woman who killed what a couple years ago? Six of her children? And she didn't get the DP because she was mentally ill poor baby.
I suspect at least part of it is that moms (but not dads) may possibly suffer from post-partum psychosis in rare (but not *that* rare) cases, in addition to post-partum depression. This can affect women without any history of mental illness.
http://www.cmha.ca/bins/content_page.asp?cid=3-86-87-88
QuotePostpartum depression is more debilitating than the "blues." Women with this condition suffer despondency, tearfulness, feelings of inadequacy, guilt, anxiety, irritability and fatigue. Physical symptoms include headaches, numbness, chest pain and hyperventilation. A woman with postpartum depression may regard her child with ambivalence, negativity or disinterest. An adverse effect on the bonding between mother and child may result. Because this syndrome is still poorly defined and under studied, it tends to be under reported. Estimates of its occurrence range from 3% to 20% of births. The depression can begin at any time between delivery and 6 months post-birth, and may last up to several months or even a year.
Postpartum psychosis is a relatively rare disorder. The symptoms include extreme confusion, fatigue, agitation, alterations in mood, feelings of hopelessness and shame, hallucinations and rapid speech or mania. Studies indicate that it affects only one in 1000 births.
One annoying side effect is that women who just had a baby tend to be treated like possible mental patients by the healthcare system.
This happened to my wife when she had Carl. She did *not* have post partum depression (I would know), but she was *seriously* pissed off by her treatment by the doc (he was a pompous ass) and the nursing staff (didn't answer beeper for hours - she was left to take care of a newborn by herself when I wasn't there, with little help from them, even though she could barely move - her recent C-section having been infected by said pompous ass surgeon, something he refused for the longest time to acknowledge - we had to get a second opinion & some emergency corrective surgery).
When she complained (admittedly not in the most temperate of tones), instead of correcting their errors they sent a social worker to evaluate her sanity. :frusty:
I had to basically scare them into providing a decent level of service, and even then once the process was started we were haunted by that damn social worker for a week. The whole thing was a horrible nightmare.
(Lest you imagine this was because of socialized medicine, my brother's experience in the US was even
worse, and he was paying big bucks for it - in his case, incompetent nurses nearly killed the kid. )
The American Way(TM) is to blow your experience all out of proportion for political purposes, and ignore completely your brother's experience (or blame him and say it's because he is stupid). :cool:
Quote from: Caliga on July 28, 2009, 09:05:50 AM
I almost think this woman should be euthanized as a mercy killing. What the hell is she going to do with herself after this?
Become Emperor of Rome?
Quote from: Gambrinus on July 28, 2009, 10:10:41 AM
Become Emperor of Rome?
He was going to become a more powerful god than she was!
Quote from: Siege on July 28, 2009, 12:30:45 AM
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 01:43:19 PM
Quote from: Siege on July 27, 2009, 01:40:46 PM
So, people flashed their lights and honked at her, and she just kept driving?
Was she trying to commit suicide?
Given the details we know, I don't think that's possible. I think she must have been having some sort of a psychological episode but didn't intend for this to happen.
Psychological episode?
Like what?
Being depressed because her husband left her with two kids?
By the way, there is no mention of her husband.
Who's the guy?
Did he die in Iraq?
That would change everything.
If you follow the link in the story Cal posted, there's a bit more info. The husband is still alive and apparantly they were still married and lived together; my asumption is that she called her brother instead of her husband because her husband was at work and her brother wasn't and/or because she had her brother's kids with her. Why she then didn't do as her brother advised and pull over and wait for him, well, who knows.
Also, I don't think it was a psychological problem. She told her brother that she felt sick and disoriented. That could be a lot of things: a stroke, high blood sugar, food poisoning, etc., but it suggests that the problem was physical.
The thought has crossed my mind that maybe when she called her brother her brother instead said "don't be a pussy and come on home... you don't need me to come pick you up" ... obviously if he had admitted that he'd said that he would risk demonization by the media, which given all the death he has to deal with right now would make everything ten times worse.
It's odd to me that she'd call him and say "hey, I'm all fucked up" and then he'd reply "I'll come get you!" and then she'd reply with something like "LOL no I am: fine!" :huh:
Quote from: Caliga on July 28, 2009, 12:33:58 PM
The thought has crossed my mind that maybe when she called her brother her brother instead said "don't be a pussy and come on home... you don't need me to come pick you up" ... obviously if he had admitted that he'd said that he would risk demonization by the media, which given all the death he has to deal with right now would make everything ten times worse.
It's odd to me that she'd call him and say "hey, I'm all fucked up" and then he'd reply "I'll come get you!" and then she'd reply with something like "LOL no I am: fine!" :huh:
That thought crossed my mind as well. Something feels strange about it, like the two hour window between the call and the crash.
Somebody mentioned diabetic shock as a possibility earlier, and that makes alot of sense to me.
I had a former employee who had Type II Diabetes and was on metformin for it, and kept some kind of injector thingy around for it too. One time she went into sugar shock and she started acting very oddly. She was mumbling something incoherent (like what a religious wacko would say is "language of the Holy Ghost", I guess) and she kept getting up from her desk, looking around blankly, and sitting back down. It look us like 30 seconds to remember what she'd told us about her diabetes and one of my other employees gave her candy or something--which she had to almost force-feed her--and then she kind of 'snapped out of it' but seemed to have no memory of the episode. Still, she believed us and then self-injected something and we then sent her home. :)
Quote from: DGuller on July 28, 2009, 01:02:39 PM
Quote from: Caliga on July 28, 2009, 12:33:58 PM
The thought has crossed my mind that maybe when she called her brother her brother instead said "don't be a pussy and come on home... you don't need me to come pick you up" ... obviously if he had admitted that he'd said that he would risk demonization by the media, which given all the death he has to deal with right now would make everything ten times worse.
It's odd to me that she'd call him and say "hey, I'm all fucked up" and then he'd reply "I'll come get you!" and then she'd reply with something like "LOL no I am: fine!" :huh:
That thought crossed my mind as well. Something feels strange about it, like the two hour window between the call and the crash.
If she's like a lot of women I know, the call went something like this:
Her: Hi. I've got the kids and I'm on the way to your place with them. Can you meet me and take them the rest of the way?
Him: Uh, I thought you were going to bring them home for me.
Her: I was, but I'm sick and I feel disoriented.
Him: Why didn't you say so? Pull over and wait for me. Where are you exactly?
Her: (snaps at him) Never mind! Since it's too much trouble for you to take your own childrn home, I'll go ahead and bring them the rest of the way. Even though I'm sick.
Him: Look, I said I'd come and get you and the kids. Where are you?
Her: Never mind!
Well, I guess the lesson here is: never look past the obvious. :frusty:
QuoteReport: New York Mother Driving During Deadly Wrong-Way Crash Drunk, High
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Print ShareThis
AP/The Journal News
The Long Island mom behind the wheel in a fiery wrong-way crash that killed her and seven others along a New York state highway was reportedly drunk and had high levels of marijuana in her system, authorities said Tuesday.
The findings were part of a toxicology report that was conducted on 36-year-old Diane Schuler in the wake of the deadly July 26 crash along the Taconic State Parkway in Briarcliff Manor, The Journal News of Westchester reported on its Web site.
The findings were shared with relatives of the crash victims, which included Schuler's 2-year-old daughter and three nieces.
Schuler was coming home to West Babylon from an upstate camping trip when she drove her Ford Windstar minivan against traffic for 1.7 miles along the northbound lane of the Taconic.
State police investigators said Schuler collided head-on with a Chevrolet Trail Blazer driven by Guy Bastardi.
Bastardi, his father Michael, and family friend Daniel Longo were all killed in the tragic crash.
Also killed were Schuler, her daughter Erin, and her three nieces, Emma Hance, 8; Alyson Hance, 7; and Kate Hance, 5.
Her 5-year-old son Bryan was the only survivor. He is currently recovering at the Westchester Medical Center in stable condition.
Investigators said Schuler crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge at about 1 p.m. and pulled over on the Tarrytown end of the crossing.
At 1:02 p.m., she called her brother, Warren Hance, and had a brief phone conversation with him, telling him that she was feeling "disoriented and had trouble seeing," according to investigators.
Hance told Schuler to immediately pull over and that he would drive to get her.
Instead, Schuler did not stay put, driving her car against traffic before the crash happened at 1:35 p.m.
I wonder if her brother told her to pull over because he knew she was an alcoholic. If that's the case, then he really must be killing himself over entrusting children to such a basket case. What a tragic story all around.
Wow... so sad, tragic of course, that she didn't listen to her brother. :(
Also, in light of this new evidence it's a good thing that she died in the wreck :ph34r:
Quote from: Caliga on August 04, 2009, 01:39:16 PM
Also, in light of this new evidence it's a good thing that she died in the wreck :ph34r:
I don't know, that's like saying that it's a good thing that the terrorist died in a suicide bombing. Her accident was the worst possible scenario of what could happen with drunk driving, so that's really not a consolation at all.
I mean it's a good thing from her standpoint. Imagine how much the rest of her life would have sucked had she survived. Her death is the less cruel path here.
Wow, her BAC was 0.19. If she survived the crash, she should've been executed on the spot. Surely somebody who's at 0.19 in the morning has to be a known alcoholic, how could she be left alone with 5 children? The more you know about this crash, the less you want to know.
Dude, check this shit out: I heard on CNN that she had alcohol in her stomach that was not yet digested AND they found a broken bottle of vodka in the wreckage whose position suggests she was not only driving drunk but was DRINKING WHILE DRIVING :bleeding:
I'm all outraged out. The only thing that would surprise me at this point is if she set the kids on fire beforehand, and crashed the car just to conceal it.
Quote from: Caliga on July 27, 2009, 12:44:03 PM
Eight people killed :blink:
I can't understand how someone could possibly get on the freeway going the wrong way and not immediately realize it. Then again, I have never driven on the Taconic Parkway (though had driven through the area many times), and my dad told me once it was a total piece of crap that should be avoided at all costs.
drugs -legal or not-, alcohol abuse, suicide, non treated mental disease, other kind of people who shouldn't be driving in the first place (Brits, Aussies, Hong-Konger ;) ), etc, etc.
Never happenned to me, but my father told me it happenned a few times that he saw someone entering the highway from the exit, early in the morning/late at night.
Quote from: Martinus on July 28, 2009, 06:48:18 AM
Good that you are infertile, so your wife doesn't drive your kids off the cliff when you finally get shot in Iraq.
if she's told by God, it's okay.
Quote from: Caliga on August 04, 2009, 09:06:10 PM
Dude, check this shit out: I heard on CNN that she had alcohol in her stomach that was not yet digested AND they found a broken bottle of vodka in the wreckage whose position suggests she was not only driving drunk but was DRINKING WHILE DRIVING :bleeding:
Alcohol AND high levels of marijuana in her system, according to the news link.
Quote from: Caliga on July 28, 2009, 01:08:31 PM
Still, she believed us and then self-injected something and we then sent her home. :)
did she drive?
No, her husband came to pick her up. He was the CFO or COO or something at some company so he could pretty much just do whatever he wanted and it was cool.
Apparently she was a diabetic.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-08-06-ny-wrong-way-crash_N.htm
Dude, no. The guy is represented by Dominic Barbara, who is possibly the sleaziest lawyer in the country. :lol:
She was drinking alcohol to get her blood sugar level up? You have to give points for originality, at least.
Bet he's trying to avoid losing some insurance money due to a drunk-driving clause or something.
But really. Diabetic with an embolism in her leg and a stroke? Pick one, dude. Just pick one.
Quote from: merithyn on August 06, 2009, 06:45:23 PM
Bet he's trying to avoid losing some insurance money due to a drunk-driving clause or something.
I'd be surprised if there is a drunk driving clause, unless New York has some special rules or laws regarding it. It would punish victims of drunk drivers much more than it would punish drunk drivers, so I doubt that it would be allowed by insurance departments.
Depends on if a life-insurance policy counted drunk-driving as self-inflicted cause of death, doesn't it?
Quote from: merithyn on August 06, 2009, 06:45:23 PM
But really. Diabetic with an embolism in her leg and a stroke? Pick one, dude. Just pick one.
some people are naturally unlucky.
Just like that boxer (Gatti) who killed himself with his wife's purse after drinking all night and knocking himself with an object behind the head. And to top it off, his wife just happenned to be sleeping all day in their appartment and it took her 10hrs to find him strangled on the floor. Naturally unlucky, I tell you.
Quote from: merithyn on August 06, 2009, 07:17:18 PM
Depends on if a life-insurance policy counted drunk-driving as self-inflicted cause of death, doesn't it?
Most life-insurance policies will pay for suicide if it happens more than 2 years after you subscribed to it.
And they generally don't discriminate against drunk drivers (not that they'd don't want to ;) ).
In fact, life-insurance policies almost never have any exclusions for death. Mine only has an exclusion for parachuting.
Invalidity insurance policies however will typically have many exclusions and will always find a way to nitpick before paying.
Quote from: merithyn on August 06, 2009, 07:17:18 PM
Depends on if a life-insurance policy counted drunk-driving as self-inflicted cause of death, doesn't it?
Good point, I was just thinking about auto insurance. Yes, collecting on life insurance could very well be problematic, even without a specific DUI clause.
I saw people driving on the wrong side of the highway all the time in China. A very high proportion of motorists ignore all rules there. But because of this, most people don't drive very fast.
Quote from: Monoriu on August 06, 2009, 07:34:39 PM
I saw people driving on the wrong side of the highway all the time in China. A very high proportion of motorists ignore all rules there. But because of this, most people don't drive very fast.
I've heard that from other people living in China. Don't they have traffic police in China? You'd think that would be an easy source of fines or bribes.
Quote from: DGuller on August 06, 2009, 07:37:03 PM
Quote from: Monoriu on August 06, 2009, 07:34:39 PM
I saw people driving on the wrong side of the highway all the time in China. A very high proportion of motorists ignore all rules there. But because of this, most people don't drive very fast.
I've heard that from other people living in China. Don't they have traffic police in China? You'd think that would be an easy source of fines or bribes.
Catching cars on the highway is too much work :lol:
Quote from: Monoriu on August 06, 2009, 07:39:10 PM
Catching cars on the highway is too much work :lol:
No, seriously, why aren't the traffic laws enforced in China? The death rates from car accidents are atrocious in China, and so are the driving habits by all reports.
uh, because Chinamen are barbarians? Traffic laws aren't enforced in most of the Third World, e.g. Russia, southern Italy, etc.
Quote from: DGuller on August 06, 2009, 07:50:24 PM
Quote from: Monoriu on August 06, 2009, 07:39:10 PM
Catching cars on the highway is too much work :lol:
No, seriously, why aren't the traffic laws enforced in China? The death rates from car accidents are atrocious in China, and so are the driving habits by all reports.
I don't think anybody can say for sure, but I think there are a couple of reasons.
Enforcing traffic laws is not just a matter of police and court action. It is also a matter of social habit and peer pressure. A big difference between Chinese and western culture is that Chinese strongly believe it is wrong to meddle in other people's affairs unless they directly affect you. When I drove in Vancouver, I got all sorts of...messages from other motorists all the time. Civilians in Canada will not hesitate to tell you that you are breaking the law or ignoring generally accepted rules of the road. People in China however do not do that. There is little or no social pressure to behave. A few bad apples will start a downward spiral until everybody is forced to break the rules, because absolutely no one follows them.
Second, I was not entirely joking in my previous post. Chasing fast moving cars is a lot of work. A lot more than, say, catching stationary hawkers.