Taconic van accident---

[GeorgeG]

Just think about how many other drivers are on the road in that condition and regular basis! Not only is their physical ability impaired, but so is their judgement of their ability to drive. Every day, all over, there are hundreds (thousands?) of impaired drivers who think they are okay to drive. Luckily, many of them manage to get home without doing much damage except for running over the flower bed. That's a luck that will run eventually out.

I'm not sure there was much the family could have done unless they were aware of the drinking and smoking when they parted that morning. Interventions don't always work, either.

Think of everyone you know (and you do know some) who drinks and drives or does dope and drives on a regular basis thinking they are just fine. Then go on the road yourself (sober) and look around you. Be scared... be very scared!

 

[Deb in IA]

This is just a horrible, horrible tragedy.

I remember when it first occured, and no one could figure out why it happened, why she was driving, and kept driving, the wrong way on a stretch of highway that was supposedly familiar to her.

Well, now we know.

She was drunk and high, with the equivalent of 10 drinks in her system, and a "substantial amount" of marijuana" as well. She had liquid alcohol in her stomach, meaning that she must have been actively drinking while driving, because liquids clear the stomach in a short period of time.

Regardless of what the family knew or didn't know, or did or didn't do, they will be forever torn apart by this senseless, awful tragedy. My heart goes out to them.

 

[JessicaR]

Warren and Jackie Hance, make a statement.

The parents of three young girls killed in the wrong-way Taconic State Parkway crash last week said Wednesday they were shocked to learn Diane Schuler was drunk and high and that they "would never knowingly allow our daughters to travel with someone who might jeopardize their safety."

"Amidst all the uncertainty and speculation as to how and why this accident occurred, this is the absolute last thing that we ever would have expected," Warren and Jackie Hance, of Floral Park, said in a statement. "Because we have never known Diane to be anything but a responsible and caring mother and aunt, this toxicology report raises more questions than it provides answers for our family."

The Hances said the news of Schuler's drinking "only adds to our already profound and indescribable grief."


http://www.newsday.com/long-island/...velation-last-thing-family-expected-1.1350380

I'm curious to hear what her husband has to say. Apparently investigators on the case are saying the family is not cooperating fully.

 

[Heidict]

Just curious but has it been made public where they were camping?

It was Hunter Lake Campground in Parksville.

 

[allison443]

Warren and Jackie Hance, make a statement.

The parents of three young girls killed in the wrong-way Taconic State Parkway crash last week said Wednesday they were shocked to learn Diane Schuler was drunk and high and that they "would never knowingly allow our daughters to travel with someone who might jeopardize their safety."

"Amidst all the uncertainty and speculation as to how and why this accident occurred, this is the absolute last thing that we ever would have expected," Warren and Jackie Hance, of Floral Park, said in a statement. "Because we have never known Diane to be anything but a responsible and caring mother and aunt, this toxicology report raises more questions than it provides answers for our family."

The Hances said the news of Schuler's drinking "only adds to our already profound and indescribable grief."


http://www.newsday.com/long-island/...velation-last-thing-family-expected-1.1350380

I'm curious to hear what her husband has to say. Apparently investigators on the case are saying the family is not cooperating fully.

I feel horrible for the Hance parents.
That statement could be interpreted a few different ways. Maybe that she had problems in the past and they thought she was over them, maybe they knew she drank/smoked pot on occasion but had never before endangered kids while doing so, or maybe they really had no clue and this was totally out of character. I see the statement also doesn't address exactly what she told her brother when she called him, could he tell she was drunk/high, and what did his poor daughter tell him when she spoke to him during that call?

However, she left the campsite Sunday morning and smoked marijuana while driving. Maybe I'm naive but where the heck would you get marijuana on a Sunday morning when you are 90 miles from home? So wouldn't it be likely she had it with her during the weekend, not that this was a one-time thing?

 

[1PrincessMomma1]

I feel horrible for the Hance parents.
That statement could be interpreted a few different ways. Maybe that she had problems in the past and they thought she was over them, maybe they knew she drank/smoked pot on occasion but had never before endangered kids while doing so, or maybe they really had no clue and this was totally out of character. I see the statement also doesn't address exactly what she told her brother when she called him, could he tell she was drunk/high, and what did his poor daughter tell him when she spoke to him during that call?

However, she left the campsite Sunday morning and smoked marijuana while driving. Maybe I'm naive but where the heck would you get marijuana on a Sunday morning when you are 90 miles from home? So wouldn't it be likely she had it with her during the weekend, not that this was a one-time thing?

ITA with what you're saying and it also implies that she was smoking marijuana in a vehicle with 5 small children inhaling these fumes. To me that says it was not a 1 time thing in order for her to expose these children to that.
I'm sorry to say but I honestly hope she rots for what she did. Kill yourself fine kill other people you deserve to rot in hell.

 

[Chernabog#1fan]

When you get into a vehicle with alcohol or drugs in your body you are putting yourself in a position to potentially commit murder...not an accident.

My heart goes out to all those involved.

I agree with this statement completely. I have always told my family and friends that I feel as though the law needs to be changed. If a person is pulled over while driving under the influence, they need to be charged with attempted murder.

 

[DWGal210]

There was a story on 60 minutes last weekend that was so sad and has bothered me since. A family was at a wedding, their little 8 year old girl was the flower girl. They showed videos of her at the wedding, beautiful little girl and so happy. They rented a limo to take them home so that they didn't have to worry about drinking & driving. On the way home (Long Island I think), a pickup truck got on the highway on the wrong side and smashed into the limo, killing the limo driver instantly. As they were trying to get out of the wreckage, the mom looked down and the little girl was decapitated! The pickup driver was very drunk and only had minor injuries. The main part of the story is he was charged with murder rather than vehicular homicide, which is a much lesser charge. He got 18 years to life I think. So sad.

I remember hearing about this too - I think the parents were on Oprah a while ago, telling the story. My heart broke, and I still think about them from time to time. The mother was telling Oprah how after the accident, she held her daughter's head and sat on the side of the road while the paramedics were helping the injured. It was the saddest thing I have ever heard.

There is a billboard in our town that says "Buzzed driving is still drunk driving." If anything good can come out of terrible events like these, maybe more people will think twice about getting behind the wheel after drinking, whether they have had 2 drinks or 10.

 

[JessicaR]

Amid questions about whether Schuler's relatives knew she was intoxicated, her husband, Daniel Schuler, hired prominent Long Island lawyer Dominic Barbara. They plan to hold a press conference Thursday.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...anger_before_taconic_crash.html#ixzz0NLLDLaUh


With Dominic Barbara involved things should become a circus shortly. Joey Buttafuoco and Jessica Hahn and the man that wanted his kidney back after he donated it to his wife (now ex-wife) all represented by Dominic Barbara.

 

[allison443]

With Dominic Barbara involved things should become a circus shortly. Joey Buttafuoco and Jessica Hahn and the man that wanted his kidney back after he donated it to his wife (now ex-wife) all represented by Dominic Barbara.

I agree...I always associate Dominic Barbara with Howard Stern!

 

[minkydog]

Just what do you expect the family members to do?

I have a brother who is an alcoholic. what do you expect me to do about HIS drinking?

I do not live with my brother, I do not really even talk to him, why? Because he is still a bit mad a me for calling the police on him one night when he tried leaving our other brothers house drunk. We did an intervention it *worked* for quite a few years. He is back to drinking and doesn't feel HE has a problem.

Yes I am aware my brother drinks, no I would not ever allow my kids to be in the car with him. BUT...I do not have any control over his life.
If he is at my house and I do not serve him any alcoholic drinks and yet he has some in his car to consume once he leaves my house, then how am I at fault if he leaves my house and kills someone?

Most alcoholics and drug abusers hide their problems, if she had vodka in the car it was probably because she may not have had the *chance* to drink it around the family while they were camping.

Spot on. My brother is a severe alcoholic, too, and he acknowledges it. He has no interest in changing that.To his credit, he does have a cab bring him home from the bar.

DBro LIKES drinking and the whole lifestyle that goes with it. I have rarely seen him sober in the last 10 years. When he is drunk he is obnoxious and belligerent. I don't know how his wife stands him.

But my point is also the point you made. The only one who is guilty of murder is the one who pulled the trigger, in this case the driver who chose to drink & drug. I have been an inpatient in a rehab facility with many, many addicts. You wouldn't believe the lengths they went to to keep their families from knowing how much they were drinking. They had places in their homes,cars and on their persons, where they kept their cache, places I've never even heard of. It was really eye-opening to me. But the thing that impressed me the most is that every one of these people admitted that their families couldn't get them clean. No amount of embarrassment or humiliation could change their ways. Until their lives became completely unbearable(and usually that meant compulsory treatment or jail) they didn't even want to get clean. Only after about 30 days of inpatient treatment did they start to recognize the impact alcohol had made in their lives. Most of them who stayed clean went on to halfway houses where they will remain for about a year. That's how hard it is to get clean!

The family is not to blame. They didn't hold the bottle to her lips or force her to inhale. She did it. The blame goes to her. Unless she was clearly impaired when the kids got into the car, or she had had a history of driving impaired, I don't see how the family could have guessed that this tragic accident could happen.

 

[GeorgeG]

If she was on the road for 90 miles and the pot was smoked within an hour and a bunch of the vodka was still in her stomach I have to think nothing seemed out of the ordinary to any of the kids (at least one was old enough to know). I'm guessing that they are probably used to this behavior from more than one person in the family(s). It's a lot like saying "I've been doing this for years and never had a problem." Never has a way of catching up.

As I said earlier, we all know people like this. Most of the time, we know they drink and/or do drugs. Not always, but most of the time. I think that whole family has a lot of soul-searching to do. I only feel bad for the kids.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm in shock. This isn't your standard "drunk driver". Something smells fishy with this story, sadly the drunk who has the answer is dead as well as the victims who had no choice in the matter.

To me it seems like it was a murder-suicide mission.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

. Passengers in the back seat would have been seriously injured. I don’t understand how the drunk escaped serious injury. The cab of his truck was very distorted and he did not have the benefit of an airbag. Drunk luck, I guess. I wasn’t able to recover much of my stuff. My GPSr died a horrible death, as did many of my belongings.

Sadly--drunks have the alcohol to their advantage when it comes to injury.

Much injury is caused by bracing for impact and the body's response to the collision.

The drunk's body is all loosey goosey and goes with the flow.

My brother's partners sister--a police officer, was on her way to visit them in their new home in Orlando. She had an errand to do. Not 10 minutes later prior to her leaving town--she got nailed by a drunk driver and pretty much died at the scene. (Unfortunately--cops get very distraught when this happens and a memory page included her very graphic injuries. She had no chance of being saved.)

The scum that hit her was not only--"fine"--he was well enough to attempt to make a run for it.

What little I do know about the collision--I have blocked from my memory. It was senseless.

 

[krcit]

If she was on the road for 90 miles and the pot was smoked within an hour and a bunch of the vodka was still in her stomach I have to think nothing seemed out of the ordinary to any of the kids (at least one was old enough to know). I'm guessing that they are probably used to this behavior from more than one person in the family(s). It's a lot like saying "I've been doing this for years and never had a problem." Never has a way of catching up.

As I said earlier, we all know people like this. Most of the time, we know they drink and/or do drugs. Not always, but most of the time. I think that whole family has a lot of soul-searching to do. I only feel bad for the kids.

Wow. So no compassion for the family that is left behind? Her brother and his wife, who lost all of their children? Her husband who lost his wife and daughter and has a son in the hospital? the drivers parents who lost 4 grandchildren and a daughter? People are making a lot of presumptions about the entire family and noone knows what really happened except that she was drunk and high and drove. She did. Not her husband. Not her brother. She did. Witnesses said she seemed fine when she left the campsite at 9:30 am, the accident was around 1:30, that's plenty of time to get drunk so I don't know why people want to blame the husband or the brother. I think they are suffering enough and I pray for everyone affected by this horrible, horrible tragedy.

 

[petchie]

How far was the campground from where the accident occured?

If she left the campground/husband at 9:30 to take the kids to McD's.

And the accident occured at 1:30

And it was only a 90 mile drive (2 hrs max) home.

Where was she during those lost hours?

 

[Disney Doll]

Amid questions about whether Schuler's relatives knew she was intoxicated, her husband, Daniel Schuler, hired prominent Long Island lawyer Dominic Barbara. They plan to hold a press conference Thursday.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...anger_before_taconic_crash.html#ixzz0NLLDLaUh


With Dominic Barbara involved things should become a circus shortly. Joey Buttafuoco and Jessica Hahn and the man that wanted his kidney back after he donated it to his wife (now ex-wife) all represented by Dominic Barbara.

Realistically, if I was her husband, and the families of the victims were already saying "Someone should pay" and anonymous people on a random message board were saying "The husband had to know", I'd hire a lawyer too.
And I'd hire the best lawyer I could afford.

 

[JessicaR]

Realistically, if I was her husband, and the families of the victims were already saying "Someone should pay" and anonymous people on a random message board were saying "The husband had to know", I'd hire a lawyer too.
And I'd hire the best lawyer I could afford.

I totally agree. I believe this man NEEDS a lawyer. It will remain to be seen if his choice of lawyer was a good one.

 

[allison443]

I totally agree. I believe this man NEEDS a lawyer. It will remain to be seen if his choice of lawyer was a good one.

I absolutely agree he needs a lawyer. Whether he needs this particular lawyer is another question altogether!

 

[DisneyCruisin]

I am so saddened and sickened by this story. I gave her the benefit ofthe doubt when I first heard about the accident, I figured she didn't know the area/road and in some places (North of the accident) it can be easy to get on the wrong way. The Taconic isn't like a highway until you get down to Westchester. I never thought someone would put their own children, their own nieces and others at risk by getting that drunk and high and then driving. Dh said that he heard people were coming foward to say they saw her car on the Thruway and she was driving erratically passing people in the breakdown lane. If she was coming from the Thruway, she had to travel across the river to get to the Taconic, I can't believe she wasn't stopped before that. Maybe all those that lost their lives would have been saved

Ditto. The whole thing is so sad. And the latest news makes it worse.

I heard that she took the Thruway/87 South across the Tappan Zee Bridge, got on the Saw Mill Parkway in the wrong direction (which others have done on many sections of the Saw Mill), got off the Saw Mill in Pleasantville, where she then got on the Taconic, again going the wrong way.

I just saw an interview with the owner of the camp. She reported the woman appeared fine, left at 9:30 am, and headed to a McDonalds before heading home. The manager at the McDonalds refused to comment.