Paper: Reunion in the Works for Wrong-Way Crash Families
NEW YORK (CBS) Two families who lost loved ones in the horrific wrong-way crash on New York's Taconic Parkway July 26 aim to hold a gathering to share their common grief, according to the New York Daily News.
The Hance family lost their three young daughters when Warren Hance's sister, Diane Schuler, 36, crashed her minivan into Michael and Guy Bastardi's SUV while driving the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway.
Toxicology reports found Schuler's blood-alcohol level at more than twice the legal limit, with high levels of the key ingredient in marijuana also in her system.
"Both families are going through unimaginable grief and still in a great deal of trauma as anyone could understand," James McCorie, the Hance's lawyer, told the newspaper. McCorie reportedly phoned relatives of the Bastardis to pass along condolences from the Hance family.
"The Bastardi family thinks it would be a great idea to grieve together," Irving Anolik, the family's lawyer, said.
Noticeably missing from this feel-good-moment was Diane Schuler's husband, Daniel Schuler, who has publicly disputed the toxicology findings.
The Bastardis have blasted him for denying his wife had a drinking problem. "It's hard for me to believe that the family did not know that this woman had an alcohol problem or a drug problem," Anolik told the Daily News last week.
Relatives of the Bastardis have threatened to sue Daniel Schuler, saying he must have known his wife was drinking before she got behind the wheel.
The lone survivor in the crash that claimed eight lives, 5-year-old Brian Schuler, was released to his father Monday from Westchester County Medical Center. He was treated for serious head and neck injuries.
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August 10, 2009 - Paper: Wrong-Way Crash Mom's Husband Had DWI
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"
August 5, 2009 - Despicable! Crash Mom Was Trashed