Did anyone watch the HBO documentary 'There's something wrong with Aunt Diane'?

[JessicaR]

This all makes a lot of sense. Did they ever ask Danny if they had partied the night before? I don't remember that in the film. That would explain a LOT...if they had been drinking/smoking the night before and he admitted it, pretty much it's all solved! She had too much in her system, didn't appear drunk to the lady at the campground because she was used to "hiding" it, then tried to get rid of a bad hangover and it all went terribly wrong.

Is Danny really in denial? Or just desperately trying to get over his own guilt?

He denied any drinking at all that weekend.

I'm not sure he feels guilt and I really don't think he is in denial. I think he trying to avoid being an accomplice.

 

[Uncle Remus]

He denied any drinking at all that weekend.

I'm not sure he feels guilt and I really don't think he is in denial. I think he trying to avoid being an accomplice.

Exactly.

Some of his first statements were Diane doesn't drink nor smoke dope, well, except she did.

 

[msjprincess]

I read that he & Diane left the campground the same time but he could not follow her on the parkway because his truck had commercial plates. IMO this sounds strange -- does that mean he traveled over 100 miles on back roads and side streets? Seems like that would take a very long time - I wonder what time he arrived home? I wonder what route he took to the campground. Ugh, so many unanswered questions.

Daniel's own lawyer said that Diane's trip took much longer than it should have. By some accounts it should have taken her less than 2 hours to arrive home. Why was Daniel not crazy worried and calling her after 2, 3, 4, hours?

I don't think that's right because she didn't take the parkway. She took the Thruway to the Tappan Zee and them somehow ended up on the Taconic north of the Tappan Zee.

I think he didn't follow because he knew she was stopping for something to eat. Plus I also think I recall something about him going fishing. I don't think that's strange.


I would love to know what route the people that said that take. LOL. Especially with kids and bathroom breaks. We go up to the Catskills almost every weekend from LI, not far from where the Schuler's live. The best time we've ever made was 2 1/2 hours. And that was leaving at 6am. Last night it took us 4 1/2 hours.

 

[akhenaten]

I would love to know what route the people that said that take. LOL. Especially with kids and bathroom breaks. We go up to the Catskills almost every weekend from LI, not far from where the Schuler's live. The best time we've ever made was 2 1/2 hours. And that was leaving at 6am. Last night it took us 4 1/2 hours.

thanks for posting how long it has taken you to make the trip! I think people hear the mileage and know how long it takes them to do that on an open stretch of highway. though anyone from the ny area knows that you don't usually have an "open stretch of highway" around here...

 

[msjprincess]

thanks for posting how long it has taken you to make the trip! I think people hear the mileage and know how long it takes them to do that on an open stretch of highway. though anyone from the ny area knows that you don't usually have an "open stretch of highway" around here...

I do have to say that we do go about 20 minutes further than the campground the Schuler's went to. But it still wouldn't take less than 2 hours on a Sunday in the summer.

 

[momrek06]

As someone that was not aware of all the details of the accident (although I had heard it about when it did happen) and watched the 'doc'; why is Diane's travel time and roads traveled important to the case? Thx.

Also do any of you think that just maybe possibly Diane and Danny had a fight/argument that morning while packing up and getting ready to leave the camp and instead of going home with the family; Diane told all the kids to get in the van and Danny choose to go fishing instead? That might have been a reason she felt the need for alcohol or weed? And a reason he did not follow her home?





Watching this 'doc' was interesting for me as my parents are from Syracuse, NY and relocated to Boston when me and all my siblings were very young. Now I know why M&D have always called the highways in Boston/New England "thruways" because it is a NY/NJ term.

 

[No.17CherryTreeLane]

I don't think that's right because she didn't take the parkway. She took the Thruway to the Tappan Zee and them somehow ended up on the Taconic north of the Tappan Zee.

I think he didn't follow because he knew she was stopping for something to eat. Plus I also think I recall something about him going fishing. I don't think that's strange.


I would love to know what route the people that said that take. LOL. Especially with kids and bathroom breaks. We go up to the Catskills almost every weekend from LI, not far from where the Schuler's live. The best time we've ever made was 2 1/2 hours. And that was leaving at 6am. Last night it took us 4 1/2 hours.

I got the information regarding the Parkway from news reports, but I suspect there is confusion about the term Parkway vs. Thruway vs. Freeway vs. Highway. Regardless, Daniel said he could not follow her because of his commercial plates.

As for the Diane's time of travel....Daniel's own attorney said at a press conference that the trip should take only 35 minutes. Anyone with a map can see that's impossible...but it shows the wide range of estimates given by various sources.

 

[msjprincess]

I got the information regarding the Parkway from news reports, but I suspect there is confusion about the term Parkway vs. Thruway vs. Freeway vs. Highway. Regardless, Daniel said he could not follow her because of his commercial plates.

As for the Diane's time of travel....Daniel's own attorney said at a press conference that the trip should take only 35 minutes. Anyone with a map can see that's impossible...but it shows the wide range of estimates given by various sources.

The only roads that don't allow commercial vehicles are Parkways. If that is the reason he didn't follow it's weird that she went home a different way anyway. Unless of course she said she was taking the Parkway home so that he wouldn't follow her.

 

[No.17CherryTreeLane]

The only roads that don't allow commercial vehicles are Parkways. If that is the reason he didn't follow it's weird that she went home a different way anyway. Unless of course she said she was taking the Parkway home so that he wouldn't follow her.

Thank you! The information in your posts is very helpful, especially for those of us not familiar with NY road laws, traffic routes, etc.

 

[msjprincess]

Here's some information about NYS and Parkways. Prior to 2000 all pickups had commercial plates http://www.hudsonvalleytraveler.com/perl/ParkwaysFAQ.pl

 

[NikitaZee]

I looked at Google maps and I see there are many other routes he could have taken. Thanks for clearing that up. I'm used to Arizona, where most of our alternatives routes lead directly to nowhere, lol.

But I still want to know if & why he has commercial plates and what time he arrived home. Why on earth didn't he follow his wife??

I wonder this as well. Maybe it's just the way my husband and I do things, but we definitely would have travelled together, by whatever route we had to. Our friends are the same way. I'm thinking she encouraged splitting up, so she could drink and smoke for whatever reason she did.

 

[msjprincess]

I wonder this as well. Maybe it's just the way my husband and I do things, but we definitely would have travelled together, by whatever route we had to. Our friends are the same way. I'm thinking she encouraged splitting up, so she could drink and smoke for whatever reason she did.

I don't think it's that strange. Especially since this is a trip that they make all of the time. Everyone is different. She had to stop to get food for the kids, plus a couple of bathroom breaks. She was stopping at her brother's house to drop the girls and the van off. I can understand him going straight home. We take road trips with friends and family at least once a year and no one ever follows each other. Once in a while we'll text and ask where they are but that's about it.

 

["Got Disney"]

There were a few things that stuck out to me....first her BFF said that Diane never ever talked about her marriage to her because she was very private...yet Diane told her all about why her mother left...the thing that most of all seemed to bother her...I

found that odd because one thing best friends do is chat about their spouses..the good and the bad. If she talked to her about her mother I have no doubt she talked about her DH but said that because it was not a good relationship and she did not want to say that so to feed into the fact that they were trying to make her at first look like this awesome person,awesome marriage and fantastic mother...although as the Documentary went on we saw that was not all factual.

Also as for the tooth...if she had a absess that would have shown up on the autopsy. along with a stoke and a number of other things they were blaming.

I personally think he knew she had a drinking problem and smoked pot more than he wanted to let on. I think she was drinking before she left and he knew it but let her drive anyway... She was very stubborn they said and you could not tell her what to do or not to do...not to mention he was clearly didn't care about the marriage.

He seems to have slot of guilt...they did not have a great marriage so it is not like he wants to clear her name really. I think he is looking for something other than the truth to clear his own conscious that it was something other than what is said it was ...if it turns out to be her tooth or fever or what ever that means he had no control in what happened. something anything that will not hold him responsible.

Either way it is a tragedy....8 are dead due to drunk and drug driving...no matter what the reason was to drink and smoke pot....she did and that is what it all comes down to. I don't think the documentary made them look better but worse.....and now more people are aware of what happened that had forgot about it or didn't know.

he also is so out of touch with his son....and that is a tragedy also. I feel for all of them.

IMO he new she was drinking and driving but at that time she was not drunk so instead of arguing with her about driving he just let her go. than she just continued to drive and drink and smoke more.

 

[NikitaZee]

[QUOTE="Got Disney";42167937]There were a few things that stuck out to me....first her BFF said that Diane never ever talked about her marriage to her because she was very private...yet Diane told her all about why her mother left...the thing that most of all seemed to bother her...I

found that odd because one thing best friends do is chat about their spouses..the good and the bad. If she talked to her about her mother I have no doubt she talked about her DH but said that because it was not a good relationship and she did not want to say that so to feed into the fact that they were trying to make her at first look like this awesome person,awesome marriage and fantastic mother...although as the Documentary went on we saw that was not all factual.

Also as for the tooth...if she had a absess that would have shown up on the autopsy. along with a stoke and a number of other things they were blaming.

I personally think he knew she had a drinking problem and smoked pot more than he wanted to let on. I think she was drinking before she left and he knew it but let her drive anyway... She was very stubborn they said and you could not tell her what to do or not to do...not to mention he was clearly didn't care about the marriage.

He seems to have slot of guilt...they did not have a great marriage so it is not like he wants to clear her name really. I think he is looking for something other than the truth to clear his own conscious that it was something other than what is said it was ...if it turns out to be her tooth or fever or what ever that means he had no control in what happened. something anything that will not hold him responsible.

Either way it is a tragedy....8 are dead due to drunk and drug driving...no matter what the reason was to drink and smoke pot....she did and that is what it all comes down to. I don't think the documentary made them look better but worse.....and now more people are aware of what happened that had forgot about it or didn't know.

he also is so out of touch with his son....and that is a tragedy also. I feel for all of them.

IMO he new she was drinking and driving but at that time she was not drunk so instead of arguing with her about driving he just let her go. than she just continued to drive and drink and smoke more.[/QUOTE]

I agree. When Diane Schuler's sister-in-law stated (at the meeting with the forensic doctor) that she didn't want her (Diane) to be seen as the poster child for moms who drive drunk - who was she fooling? She is the epitome of moms who drive drunk.

 

["Got Disney"]

I also want to add another discrepancy ....the Sil that was in the Documentary with him through the whole thing said that the little boy that survived said he went flying like superman...which gave me the impression he was thrown from the car...yet the men that pulled the kids out of the car said that all the kids were ontop of him....that's why he survived.....

With an impact like that that killed everyone else...why would he be able to remember anything....especially flying like superman.

 

[richmond282]

[QUOTE="Got Disney";42169460]I also want to add another discrepancy ....the Sil that was in the Documentary with him through the whole thing said that the little boy that survived said he went flying like superman...which gave me the impression he was thrown from the car...yet the men that pulled the kids out of the car said that all the kids were ontop of him....that's why he survived.....

With an impact like that that killed everyone else...why would he be able to remember anything....especially flying like superman. [/QUOTE]

I didn't watch the documentry cause I don't have HBO, but did the car go airborn at any point in time? Or did he just "fly" out of his seat hence why he ended up on the bottom of a heap?

 

[LuvLDM]

[QUOTE="Got Disney";42169460]I also want to add another discrepancy ....the Sil that was in the Documentary with him through the whole thing said that the little boy that survived said he went flying like superman...which gave me the impression he was thrown from the car...yet the men that pulled the kids out of the car said that all the kids were ontop of him....that's why he survived.....

With an impact like that that killed everyone else...why would he be able to remember anything....especially flying like superman. [/QUOTE]

I also found that odd.
The sil made a point of saying the boys statement was unwavering....he said "mommy's head hurt & I flew like superman".
Personally I don't believe the little boy ever said that. He sustained a serious head injury, so remembering anything from the accident is highly unlikely and as the above poster pointed out he was not ejected from the vehicle.

 

[budmonster]

I just watched this documentary yesterday and I'm still just dumbfounded. There is so much story changing, lying, misleading, and just plain ignorance going on in what is left of that family... it's sad.

I did have one thought, among many, and I might be wrong or maybe read the documentary the wrong way. But does anyone else think that she did this on purpose.

She was a control freak; maybe there were things going on in her life, drugs, alcohol abuse , problems with hubby and so on that she couldn't control anymore. Maybe she had been spiraling our of control for a while and just couldn't take it any more. Then used the drugs and alcohol to numb the pain and just decided to end it.

I don't know and I don't think anyone will ever know. It's sad that all of those innocent children and men had to pay the price because of her.

Any her husband is a piece of you know what. I feel so sorry for the little boy that survived and left with him.

 

[Uncle Remus]

I just watched this documentary yesterday and I'm still just dumbfounded. There is so much story changing, lying, misleading, and just plain ignorance going on in what is left of that family... it's sad.

I did have one thought, among many, and I might be wrong or maybe read the documentary the wrong way. But does anyone else think that she did this on purpose.

She was a control freak; maybe there were things going on in her life, drugs, alcohol abuse , problems with hubby and so on that she couldn't control anymore. Maybe she had been spiraling our of control for a while and just couldn't take it any more. Then used the drugs and alcohol to numb the pain and just decided to end it.

I don't know and I don't think anyone will ever know. It's sad that all of those innocent children and men had to pay the price because of her.

Any her husband is a piece of you know what. I feel so sorry for the little boy that survived and left with him.

I think she did it on purpose, guzzled all the booze, toked a bit to get up the courage 'n then drove very purposefully to kill herself 'n wanted the kids to die along with her.

 

[JessicaR]

I just watched this documentary yesterday and I'm still just dumbfounded. There is so much story changing, lying, misleading, and just plain ignorance going on in what is left of that family... it's sad.

I did have one thought, among many, and I might be wrong or maybe read the documentary the wrong way. But does anyone else think that she did this on purpose.

She was a control freak; maybe there were things going on in her life, drugs, alcohol abuse , problems with hubby and so on that she couldn't control anymore. Maybe she had been spiraling our of control for a while and just couldn't take it any more. Then used the drugs and alcohol to numb the pain and just decided to end it.

I don't know and I don't think anyone will ever know. It's sad that all of those innocent children and men had to pay the price because of her.

Any her husband is a piece of you know what. I feel so sorry for the little boy that survived and left with him.

The more I learn the more it sure does sound like she may have committed suicide. The only piece that does not fit to that is why would she take her children and nieces with her.

I think about her being ticked at her husband and doing something like this to once again be in ultimate control. The documentary stated from more than a few people that swerved out of her way on the Taconic that she wasnt weaving - was speeding and had no reaction what so ever on her face as they passed her going the wrong way. They stated that she was looking straight ahead and staying straight along the line.

Is it true that she travelled the same road the right way before turning around and entering the wrong way? It would seem that maybe she was scouting the curve where the accident occurred.

Also, I think her son is repeating what he has heard more so that what he remembers.

I find it so odd that she never told her husband when she had doctor and dentist visits and he had no idea what medications she was taking and for what reason. Their relationship was odd and strained at best. Did you see where his mom said Daniel was like Diane's oldest son not a husband. That would get old quick.

One things is for certain she was an ultimate control freak. Every person interviewed brought that up.