Once again, there is no real mystery in tragedy. Instead, the only unanswered question is not how a mother of two drank twice the legal limit of alcohol, smoked a lot of pot and crashed her minivan on the Taconic Parkway in New York, killing eight people, including herself and her child.
The question is: Why did she do it?
Was this a family secret? Or was it her secret? Or was there some mental illness behind the facade of normality that she projected to her friends and family? Was there some undetected issue that was ignored, and shouldn't have been ignored, but played against her type?
Here, we have somebody playing against type: No reported history of mental illness, self-medication or dual diagnosis. But something caused Diane Schuler to drive erratically as she did, call up her brother and complain about how she felt, and then drive head-on into another car.
Why were drinking and drugs never raised as an issue? Why did we just discount what wasn't so obvious, that some people can put up the facade of living a "normal" life, but they're really all that normal?
Before we demonize her, perhaps we need to start peeling away at the face of tragedy and see what true cause lies beneath.
As reported by The New York Daily News:
Death driver Diane Schuler was drunk and high on marijuana when her wrong-way crash killed eight people on the Taconic State Parkway, sources told the Daily News on Tuesday.
Schuler's blood alcohol level was .19 - about two-and-a-half times the legal limit, investigators confirmed Tuesday.
State Police first learned the toxicology results last Friday, but decided not to reveal the information until the victims were buried.
Police have given the findings to Schuler's family and relatives of the three other victims of the July 26 crash, which killed 36-year-old Schuler, her 4-year-old daughter, and her three nieces, ages 9, 7 and 5. Her 5-year-old son survived.
Also killed were the three Yonkers men inside the SUV Schuler hit - Guy Bastardi, 49, his father Michael Bastardi, 81 and family friend Daniel Longo, 74.
"We're beside ourselves," said Robert Guzzo. His wife, Roseann Bastardi, is the sister and daughter of the victims.
"Nothing's going to bring them back," he said. I can't say it helps to know what happened."
"In the beginning I was as puzzled as everyone else, but now it makes sense," Guzzo said. "I'm very angry... but it's a tragedy on both sides. I feel for those kids."
Westchester's chief medical examiner, Dr. Millard Hyland, told the Journal News the case has been ruled a homicide and referred to the district attorney.
Investigators revealed Monday that Schuler had been driving erratically for nearly 60 miles before the fiery crash and stopped at a Liberty, N.Y., McDonald's on the drive home from a camping trip in Sullivan County.
Her husband, Daniel Schuler, told police they left the campground around 9:30 a.m. and his wife was fine.
Around 1 p.m., Schuler called her brother - whose daughters were in the car - and said she was sick and needed help driving.
The brother, Warren Hance, called State Police in Tarrytown to say Schuler needed help. Troopers searched for the red minivan she was driving, but didn't find her in time.
Around 1:30 p.m., Schuler entered the north-bound Taconic via an exit ramp in Briarcliff Manor, Westchester County.
She drove for 1.7 miles before plowing into the Bastardis' Chevy SUV.
"I don't even want to think about if the brother knew what she was doing and let those kids get in the car," Guzzo said.
The Bastardis and Longo were on their way to Guzzo's house for dinner. They were going to discuss an upcoming family vacation to Wildwood, N.J., an annual tradition.
"We can't bear to go this year," Guzzo said. "I don't know if we'll ever go again."
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
No mystery in tragedy - wrong-way crash driver was drunk
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4 comments:
You are wrong, Mr. Davis. Your rant reminds me of my second-grade reading comprehension class and the importance of reading with the goal of understanding the writer's intent. The formal report is not that Ms. Schuler drank and snoked herself into a criminal stupor. They quite simply presented toxicology results. They also cryptically shared their findings that this was a homicide. The complete story will emerge in a matter of days and I simply ask that you post a retraction and an apology at that time. Riddle me this, Mr. Judgmental... What self-respecting man, much less a loving husband and father would leave his wife, small children (ages 2 and 5) at a McDonald's on a highway in an unfamiliar area and take off with the family dog? Didn't follow at a safe distance to be sure everyone was sale on the road. Didn't take his 5-year-old son in the truck with him for any portion of the trip. And you do not know who else Ms. Schuler called when she realized she was having difficulty. You do not know whether or when she called state troopers or if she called Daniel who was close by on the road and what he said. You do not know what she ate or drank that was provided to her as she traveled home. You do not know whether she unknowingly ingested a punch, for exanple, that was loaded with vodka. Or cookies that were tainted with marijuana. You do not know whether any or all of the children had some of the drug in their system, do you? You do not know whether the medical examiner found that Ms. Schuler inhaled the drug or if the plant was ingested another way. And, yet, you judge her. My recommendation would be that you listen and read with a desire to understand. My request would be that you open your heart and your mind and wait for more information prior to judging the devoted mother and aunt of wonderful little angels.
Mr. Davis you are a idiot
Actually... I think that Mr. Davis has a valid rant. This is, after all, a BLOG and not a NEWS site, where any opinion is entirely valid. Mr. Davis' point-of-view is that the toxicology reports reflect wrongdoing on Ms. Schuler's part. I don't understand why this is an impossible possibility for so many people. Your accusation of her husband at this point is a little ridiculous as well, if I do say so myself.
I am a relative of the family. Now, I understand where most of this may be hard to understand. Nobody knows why it happened, Diane was like a second mother to me and I have never witnessed her drink and/or smoke marijuana. I am sick of reading blogs,emails,news stories, etc. that are vile and in my opinion, childish. The Hance's are a family too, and yes what happened was tragic, but is sitting around and trash talking her going to change anything? No. So next time you sit back on your Mac computers and "blog" about someone.. think about the fact that everyone has a family. And especially after all that has happened, we don't want to read childish accusations and bickering back and forth... that's what facebook is for. ha ha
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