Husband of Wrong-Way Crash Driver Probed

(CBS/AP)  Authorities are investigating the husband of the woman who was driving a minivan the wrong way on a parkway just north of New York City when it hit an SUV head-on late last month, killing herself and seven others, sources say.

Diane Schuler, 36, is dead, along with her 2-year-old daughter, three nieces aged 5, 7 and 8 and three men in the SUV. Her 5-year-old son survived the fiery crash.

CBS station WCBS-TV in New York says it's learned that Daniel Schuler "is himself now being investigated by Suffolk County (Long Island, site of the Schuler family home) Child Protective Services" who want to know "how much Schuler knew about his wife's drinking and marijuana use the day of the crash."

CBS News Correspondent Terrell Brown says officials want to find out what Daniel Schuler knew about his wife's possible substance abuse problem and whether he could have stopped her from causing the crash.

Toxicology reports found the equivalent of ten shots of an alcoholic beverage in her body, Brown points out, and evidence of marijuana use.

Her family vigorously denies Diane Schuler abused alcohol.

"She is not an alcoholic," Daniel Schuler said at a tearful news conference this week, "and my heart is rested every night when I go to bed. Something medically had to have happened."

"There is no way she would ever jeopardize the children," Diane Schuler's sister-in-law, Joy Schuler, insisted to reporters that day.

The family says Diane Schuler was once diabetic and may have suffered a stroke.

But, authorities say, a broken vodka bottle was found in the burned minivan she was driving and the medical examiner found no sign of a fatal medical condition.

State police say Diane Schuler was fine at a fast-food restaurant an hour after starting her drive that tragic day, thus narrowing the timeline of her possible drinking binge.

Police are piecing together her journey from an upstate campground to the crash some four hours later.

They say Schuler seemed sober when she left the camp at about 9:30 a.m. on July 26, but had had more than 10 vodkas and had marijuana's main ingredient in her system by the time crash occurred.

Daniel Schuler has said he noticed nothing suspicious when he and his wife left in separate vehicles from the campground that Sunday morning. He headed home to Long Island with the family dog, and she planned to stop at a McDonald's in Liberty, N.Y., not far from the campground.

State police said Friday that, after interviewing employees at a McDonald's about 15 miles from the Hunter Lake campsite, "There was no indication of any illness or impairment during the time she was there."

Schuler left with her children in the minivan between 10:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m., police said. The last time she was heard from was a cell phone call she made at 1:02 p.m., from a parking area south of the Tappan Zee Bridge, only a few miles from where the fatal collision took place, they said.

An investigator hired by Daniel Schuler's attorney has said that three other telephone calls were made earlier in the journey but has not revealed details of those calls. In the final phone call, Schuler's 8-year-old niece told her father that Schuler wasn't feeling well and had trouble seeing and speaking.

Daniel Schuler's attorney, Dominic Barbara, did not return several telephone calls seeking comment Friday.

Diane Schuler's autopsy found she had a blood alcohol level of 0.19 percent, more than twice the legal limit for driving, and a high level of the key ingredient in marijuana in her system when she crashed.

Several relatives reacted with shock to the revelation that the woman they said was a trustworthy, responsible mother and aunt would have been severely intoxicated.

Police said Wednesday that no criminal charges were planned, but relatives of the three Yonkers men killed in the SUV have questioned how Schuler's family could have been oblivious to an alcohol abuse problem and have consulted with Westchester County prosecutors.

A lawyer for relatives of two of the Yonkers men suggested charges might be possible against anyone who knew Schuler had been drinking before the crash. He said his clients also would explore a possible civil case.

[toxicology101]

Where has forensic science gone? I'm not sure of the condition of the bodies after they were taken from the wreckage, but to determine a history of chronic alcohol abuse all you would need to do is look at her liver. It would show signs of cirrhosis, fat and scarring from alcohol consumption. Also, a simple hair test would give a timeline into her marijuana use. Why hasn't this been done during autopsy?
We really don't need to speculate when pathology can tell us what we need to know.

[blazarus71]

There are a lot of seemingly responsible people (to those around them) that suffer from addiction. So I can certainly understand how it may have come as a surprise to her family, "if" she did suffer from any addictions. I do not believe this was the fault of her husband or her family. If there was an issue with any type of addiction it was of her own decision to get behind the wheel. I doubt it was a premeditated action.

This has been a tragic loss for all of the families involved.

[Adrienne1962]

I heard tonight that she felt woozy and called her brother. This made me think that the husband may have given her vodka and stuck the bottle in the car, murdered her for the insurance.

[babooph]

The cops better "investigate" 1/3 of the wives in the States for not controlling their drinking husbands,while they are at this.

[billards53]

Car crashes as a partisan political issue? Nine months after a presidential election I am trying get over the sixteen month campaign and some people cant get over the results .

[billards53]

Gotta blame somebody ? Trade in your soap box for an ivory tower .Teflon is extra .

[sjw1253]

I do believe that people need to be made accountable for their actions and/or inactions as well as denials.

This being said... This man has lost his daughter, his wife, and 3 nieces/nephews... This is very tragic and I am sure if he had any inkling that something would have gone wrong he would have prevented it.

I am very conflicted by this case as in one way it sounds as though it is a witch hunt to me and possibly a "money" hunt to gain monetary benefits from the death of the people in the other car...

I can understand trying to sue the woman's estate but to try to put the responsibility on the husband is a very difficult case to prove - especially with the information provided in the article in reference to the McDonald's stop...

I do understand the problems with drinking and driving and have very similar concerns. I do know what it is like to be the one person raising concerns about a person's soberness and being made into the "hypercritical" person. My entire family has ostracized me at times when I have made my concerns known. It is very hard to know when it is okay to say something as a person can be judged to be the one to ruin all family events by expressing their opinions...

What could the husband have done to legally stop his wife from driving even if he did know she had a substance abuse problem??? She did not exhibit any signs of being under the influence one-hour into the trip - there is nothing he could have done in my humble opinion - that would have changed the course of this very sad event.

I am sure we can all be arm-chair quarterbacks in any event - but really - what we we have done that would have changed this event from happening if it had been us (and be honest)... You have to be there to really be able to say...

My deepest sympathies to all who lost their loved ones in this very tragic accident. Please try to remember the best memories of all that perished and make the most of their lives...

Seeking retribution is not really the answer. Seeking a way to help prevent this from occurring again in the future will have the most positive impact for all concerned from this point forward. You can't go back and you can't replace your loved ones with money and/or anger.

[Hosheen]

Of course this man is being investigated. He had the almighty nerve to contradict the "official" story with a reasonable explanation of his own.

This is his fault. After all, he chose to live in what is quickly becoming the least free country in history. The United States of Serfdom. Better get out before it becomes like North Korea where the people are not permitted to travel out of the country and travel in the country is restricted. That will be the next step for Norte Americanos. "For your own good," of course.

[Cas2dy]

Why are people trying to blame this man? Even the DMV allows alcoholics to have an active, unrestricted license if they have served their time, paid their fines and made their meetings or classes. You simply cannot expect everyone who is close to or who knows an alcoholic to be able to determine when they are gong to suddenly go on a binge or even just sneak a little sip in here and there. The fault of any accident, expecially in this scenario would lie within the one who actually drank, not the one who last saw her totally sober. She killed his kids, his wife, his nieces too, people. The pain doesn't only dwell within the other family who is seeking legal recourse (I don't blame them, but neither side gets their loved ones back, you know). This is sad and this is so tragic, but the man left his wife sober. She visted a resutrant afterward and it has been reported by the staff there that she was sober. So Hubby had no way of knowing that she was going to do this. How is it possibly his fault?

[micheleisfree]

If she really was drinking--and it wasn't a diabetic attack--I think the second car's family should sue the holy heck out of this woman's family. Dead or not, she must compensate this family for her vile actions. I'm sorry that means the dead woman's family suffers more. They should have thought about that before they let a drunk drive the kids around.

Note to All: Stop your drunk spouse from driving or lose everything. Yeah, it IS your responsibility. That's what marriage is, shared financial responsibility.

I hope the truth comes out.

[rematenaj]

Micheleisfree, you obviously don't know anything about alcoholics. The only person who can control an alcoholic is the alcoholic themself. And who should they sue if the woman wasn't married?? Your logic is flawed.