Paper: Wrong-Way Crash Mom's Husband Had DWI
GARDEN CITY, N.Y (CBS/AP) Daniel Schuler, the husband of a Long Island mother who killed eight while driving drunk and high, once had his own problems with drinking and driving, according to the New York Post.
While driving from one bar to another on October 14, 1995, Daniel was pulled over by Nassau County Police, according to the paper. Arresting officer John Peelman stopped the white 1991 Plymouth for weaving in and out of traffic and crossing the double yellow line.
A "swaying" Schuler had "glassy eyes" and "impaired motor condition," according to Speelman's police report. Schuler told officers he had already consumed five Budweisers at one bar, but was on his way to a second to continue his drinking, the New York Post reports.
Schuler blew a .113 percent blood alcohol content almost two hours after the initial traffic stop, well over the then-legal limit of .10 percent. As a 24-year-old first-time offender, he was permitted to plea the misdemeanor down to a violation, leading to a 90-day suspension and a $325 fine, according to the Post.
The revelation adds another layer of controversy to a story with so many conflicting details. Daniel Schuler, during an emotional press conference Aug. 6, said he had never seen his wife, Diane Schuler, drunk. Family members backed him up; adding they often put their children under the 36-year-old cable executive's care without a thought.
But a toxicology report says Diane Schuler may have had a hidden life that led her to drink roughly 10 shots of vodka and smoke pot an hour before driving nearly two miles in the wrong direction on the Taconic Parkway in Westchester, N.Y. and smashing into an SUV.
The July 26 accident killed eight, including her own daughter, three nieces, and three men in the SUV, Michael Bastardi, 81, his 49-year-old son, Guy, and their friend Daniel Longo, 74. Diane Schuler's five-year-old son was the sole survivor.
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August 7, 2009 - Crash Mom's Husband: Killer or Victim: Who Was Wrong-Way Crash Mom?
August 6, 2009 - Crash Mom's Husband: "I Would Marry Her Again Tomorrow"
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