Wrong-Way Crash: "Diane Would Not Do This"

(CBS)  "This isn't the Diane that we know."

The mystery of the tragic accident that took eight lives on New York's Taconic Parkway last Sunday has gotten deeper with the release of an autopsy report, stating that the driver of a vehicle going south in a northbound lane was drunk and stoned.

A toxicology report found that Diane Schuler of West Babylon, L.I., had the equivalent of ten shots of vodka and marijuana in her body.

A bottle of vodka was found in the mangled wreckage after Schuler's minivan slammed into oncoming traffic near Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., killing herself, her 2-year-old daughter, three nieces, and three men in another car. Her 5-year-old son is the sole survivor and is still recovering in the hospital.

Yesterday Daniel Schuler, grieving for the loss of both his wife and his little girl, Erin, spoke out in her defense:

"I never saw her drunk since the day I met her," he said at a press conference. Schuler wouldn't answer questions about marijuana use.

He blamed her apparent disorientation on a stroke, her diabetic condition, or an abscess in her mouth, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace.

"I go to bed every night knowing my heart is clear: She did not drink. She is not an alcoholic. Something medically had to happen," Daniel Schuler said.

Jay Schuler, Daniel's sister-in-law, also defended her on CBS' "The Early Show," against the toxicology report that claimed she drove five children in a car while high and stoned. "Diane would not do this," she told anchor Maggie Rodriguez.

"My feeling hasn't changed to Diane at all," Jay Schuler said. "She was a wonderful, wonderful mother, wonderful sister-in-law, wonderful friend.

"She was caring, loving, loved children. As I've stated before, I've left my son in her care numerous times, once when I left the country. There is not a doubt in my mind.

"Danny is heartbroken, heartbroken for the families," she continued. "They are in our thoughts and our prayers. We want them to know this is not Diane. We would never, never ever let this happen."

She said further investigation is required to find out what happened.

Daniel Schuler's attorney, Dominic Barbara, also questioned the evidence, saying it was inexplicable given how Diane Schuler appeared before the crash.

"Maggie, I'm going to ask you to explain how a woman gets up, eats breakfast, leaves the campground at 9:00 a.m., gets kisses from her husband, leaves other people, and she is not drunk," Barbara said.

By 1:35 p.m., she and seven others were dead.

"At some point something happens to this woman, there's no doubt about it," Barbara added. "We're finding more and more proof." He described a phone call from one of the children in which they observed Diane Schuler was "having problems forming words.

"That's not 'drunk,'" Barbara said.

The only survivor in the minivan was Diane's 5-year-old son, Brian, who is still hospitalized.

"Brian is a trooper," Jay Schuler said. "It's going to be a long haul. He will need some extensive rehab. We're just giving him love and support from the family. We are around him around the clock, just to make sure that he's okay."


The family is asking any witnesses with information about Diane Schuler prior to the accident to contact Tom Ruskin of CMP Group at [phone].

[sahidloyola]

She was a drunk and a pot head, and now she is a murderer. Try giving some one 10 oz of vodka and lots of weed, and see if they can talk striaght. And if the husband knew she was sick, a drug addict and an alcoholic, why on earth would he leave her alone with the kids? He is to blame as much as she was.

[sahidloyola]

She was a drunk and a pot head, and now she is a murderer. Try giving some one 10 oz of vodka and lots of weed, and see if they can talk striaght. And if the husband knew she was sick, a drug addict and an alcoholic, why on earth would he leave her alone with the kids? He is to blame as much as she was.

[MariahJanes]

Considering the medical issues her husband keeps talking about, I'll bet she was also on SSRI's. Docs prescribe them these days for just about everything. Its well documented that they cause bizarre behavior, including alcoholism and substance abuse. They are mind altering, permanent brain injuring drugs which do not heal or cure. They have an amphetamine like effect and alter your metabolism and blood sugar. They'll create a spell binding effect making you think your bizarre manic behavior is ok. Wake up, folks! Our society is experiencing epidemic use of SSRI's! So why are we surprised at tragedies like this? Its a dilemma! Who's going to tell the emperor the truth about his new clothes?

[jwesel1]

It's time alcohol is banned completely. It's causing just too many problems of every kind.

[zonkzilla]

If the husband did not order an independent substance test of the woman's blood he is not too bright. Something strange is going on with this.

[baltimorebabe]

I think the reason the husband is denying the facts is about money and being sued by the injured parties in this accident. It's about the money.

[tomrobla]

Unlikely that toxicology is wrong for such a high profile case. She downed a bottle of vodka and smoked a few joints in a short time. It takes effort to keep a car on the road going the wrong way for several miles. Perhaps , she wanted to die and take the kids with her. Have the cops checked her credit/debit cards to find out how much booze she has been buying? If she wasn't an alcoholic , maybe this was an onetime suicidal overdose.

[puzzler125]

There is no EXACT time for marijuana to stay in a person's system. Many factors affect it including the amount of adipose (fat) tissue in one's body and how much is used. A person who is a daily or chronic user and a person who smoked once in a whie would have different levels in their systems. Metabolism causes differences as well.

[Farver4girls]

The truth will come out when Diane Schuler's sister-in-law gets mad at Diane for killing all of her children. Right now, I believe that Mrs. Hance is in shock and denial. Over time, Mrs. Hance may become angry at Diane for killing her children. Mrs. Hance may also become angry at Mr. Hance for not calling 911 immediately after he received that last phone call from Diane. Wouldn't you get angry if someone killed all your children?

[Farver4girls]

I believe that Diane was a functioning alcoholic and that her family is in denial about her alcoholism. The vodka in her car, her blood alcohol level, the vodka in her stomach, her phone call to her brother saying she felt disoriented, had trouble forming words and trouble seeing suggest that she was sh-tfaced. Plus, she drove off when her brother told her he would come and get her. And she left her cell phone at the bridge toll booth.

I don't believe Attorney Barbara's theory that Diane drank vodka is a misguided attempt to correct low blood sugar. Diane ate breakfast with her kids at MacDonald's. Eating food would have raised her blood sugar.