Since July 26, the mystery of why Diane Schuler entered a busy upstate highway going the wrong direction, which resulted in the deaths of four children and four adults, baffled authorities and family members. Yesterday, the reason was discovered.
She was drunk and stoned.
Schuler’s blood-alcohol level was well above the legal limit, and she still had undigested alcohol in her stomach, State Police Maj. William Carey said Tuesday.
Diane Schuler, who died along with her 2-year-old daughter and three nieces in her red minivan, had more than 10 drinks of alcohol in her system and a high level of the main ingredient in marijuana, authorities said. A broken 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut vodka was found in her wrecked minivan, police said.
Blood tests also showed she had smoked marijuana 15 minutes to an hour before the crash, said Betsy Spratt, chief toxicologist for the Westchester County medical examiner.
“With that level of alcohol … she would have had difficulty with perception, with her judgment, with her memory,” Spratt said. “You start to get what we call tunnel vision.”
Westchester Country District Attorney Janet DiFiore issued a statement Aug. 4 about the findings.
“The New York State Police have been investigating the cause of the July 26th collision on the Taconic State Parkway that took eight lives. The toxicology report prepared by the Westchester County Medical Examiner reveals that the driver of the vehicle traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of the parkway had a BAC of .19 – more than twice the legal limit. In addition, the report indicates that the driver was operating the vehicle while impaired by marijuana. My office, along with the New York State Police, will continue to investigate the facts and circumstances that led up to the collision causing the deaths, so that the public and the families of the victims can understand what lead to this horrific crash,” said DiFiore in a statement.
According to the reports, Schuler’s Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) was .19 when she drove the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway, killing her daughter, three nieces and three men in an SUV she hit.
Roseann Guzzo, whose father and brother were killed in the SUV, said Tuesday her family wanted to meet with prosecutors to discuss the case.
“We’re outraged by it,” she said. “It’s a choice she made. And that choice she made to us is like she committed murder.”
Schuler, from West Babylon, called her brother on the way home from a campground the family had been to many times and said she was not feeling well and was having vision troubles. He urged her to wait for him and he would come and get her. Later reports from other motorists said they saw Schuler’s mini-van weaving in and out of traffic on nearby roads and having trouble keeping in one lane.
Her cell phone was later found at a rest stop by another motorist.
Schuler entered the Taconic Parkway going the wrong direction, traveling for 1.7 miles before hitting an SUV head-on. The accident is being called the worst in the 75-year history of the Taconic Parkway, known for its difficult twists and turns.
Authorities did not plan on releasing the information just yet.
New York State Police posted a statement on their media web site early Tuesday as news of the toxicology report leaked. “Although there are reports circulating about the possibility of alcohol and THC in Diane Schuler’s blood, the State Police cannot confirm these reports as they are still awaiting a Toxicology Report to be issued. The State Police have learned however that this report is expected to be out sometime this week,” said the statement.
By the end of the day, the news had been confirmed. Neighbors of Schuler were stunned at the news. The families could not be reached for comment.
Floral Park village police blocked access to the home of Schuler’s brother and said no one was there to comment. There was no answer when a reporter knocked on the door of the Schuler family home in West Babylon.
With Frank Eltman, Associated Press