Another tragedy for the "WTF?" files

[dps]

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!" 

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!

[Caliga]

Well, I guess the lesson here is: never look past the obvious.

Report: New York Mother Driving During Deadly Wrong-Way Crash Drunk, High
Tuesday, August 04, 2009 

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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.

[DGuller]

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.

[KRonn]

Wow... so sad, tragic of course, that she didn't listen to her brother.   

[Caliga]

Also, in light of this new evidence it's a good thing that she died in the wreck

[DGuller]

Also, in light of this new evidence it's a good thing that she died in the wreck

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.

[Caliga]

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.

[DGuller]

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.

[Caliga]

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

[DGuller]

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.

[viper37]

Eight people killed

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.

[viper37]

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.

[KRonn]

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

Alcohol AND high levels of marijuana in her system, according to the news link. 

[viper37]

Still, she believed us and then self-injected something and we then sent her home.

did she drive?

[Caliga]

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.