There's something wrong with Aunt Diane

This whole thing is bananas. For anyone who doesn't know the story, woman coming back from camping. Has her van full of kids. Starts acting strange. Says she has a headache and can't see. Obviously the woman was sober when she pulled into the gas station. Left the store and drove away. It's just so strange. I do not believe the autopsy. I know drunk people. It's kind of my specialty and I, without a doubt, believe this woman was stone cold sober. This woman literally lost control and killed her family. Even a person blackout drunk would not have done this. It just doesn't make any sense. Or I'm wrong and she was a closet super alcoholic. But that makes even less sense. A person couldn't drink enough in a half hour to get to the blood alcohol level she had. It has to be a stroke or something similar. She was driving fine for the most part. Something happened to this woman. But what?

I know everyone is going to say drunk. But I disagree. All witnesses say she acted totally normal and sober. I just don't know what to make of it


I'm not too good at uploading sites and videos. Youtube or Google " There's something wrong with Aunt Diane"

Just have no idea what could have happened.

a reply to: Toolman18

This looks like a fascinating case and I will watch more of the video when I have the time. Thanks! I have never heard of this case before now.

a reply to: ignorant_ape

Thanks

a reply to: Toolman18

The 2009 Taconic State Parkway crash was a traffic collision that occurred shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, 2009, on the Taconic State Parkway in the town of Mount Pleasant, near the village of Briarcliff Manor, New York.[1] Eight people were killed when a minivan driven by 36-year-old Diane Schuler, after traveling 1.7 miles in the wrong direction on the parkway, collided head-on with an oncoming SUV. The deaths included Schuler, her daughter and three nieces, and the three passengers in the SUV.[2] The crash was the worst fatal motor vehicle accident to occur in Westchester County, New York,[3] since July 22, 1934, when a bus accident in Ossining claimed 20 lives.[4][5]

Definitely bananas! I had forgotten all about this case, thanks for bringing it back up and hopefully, if the truth is not the accepted version than it will come to light one day.
I'll upload a couple of things for you.
HBO Documentary

The Wikipedia Page

My opinion is that she very well could have been drunk off her rear. I've known alcoholics as well both closet and open wide and some are very skilled at hiding their intoxication, very skilled.
I believe she could have been heavily intoxicated by 1:30 pm, especially if the drinking (which the husband admitted had been going on that weekend) lasted early into the morning and she started again with the Vodka.
It must have been a terrifying experience for the passengers in the van and I hope their souls are at peace along with the victims that she crashed head-on into.

The official testing/toxicology reports indicated that she had high content of alcohol and THC in her system and her husband had stated that independent testing would be done however I don't know if that's ever happened.

I can understand her husband wanting to keep her name/reputation untarnished for the surviving child and I have to wonder if the life insurance, assuming there was any, refused to pay out due to the nature and official cause of death.

The HBO documentary suggests that she could have been suffering from a tooth abscess and self medicated with alcohol and drugs although that still implies that she was driving whole impaired, at least.

There's a lot of suing going on:

In July 2011, Jackie Hance, who lost her three daughters in the accident, filed suit against her brother-in-law, Daniel Schuler.[51] The suit claims that the three Hance girls suffered terror, fear of impending death, extreme horror, fright, and mental anguish.[51]
On July 26, 2011, the day after the premiere of HBO's documentary on the subject, There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane, and on the second anniversary of the crash, Daniel Schuler announced that he is suing the State of New York for not keeping the road safe and his brother-in-law Warren Hance for being the owner of the minivan.

The husband's suing of NY State and his brother in law are, IMO, a shame. I don't know the outcome of those lawsuits mentioned but hope they were not entertained long.

I hope everyone that was involved is able to find peace.

a reply to: Toolman18

I've seen this before and found some things that don't add up. Throw in a greedy investigator that gives then the run around and it's worse.

Seeing this today reminded me of CNN Auto Brewery Syndrome

And what I see as a problem with false positive tests for THC ATS

It also sounds like a stroke or a migraine with aura or an infection or a combination of some of them.

I do not find it plausible that she drank/smoked that much in such a short amount of time.

It's a tragedy.

a reply to: Toolman18

A person couldn't drink enough in a half hour to get to the blood alcohol level she had.

I'd have to strongly disagree with that. When I drank, I knew guys who could knock out 2 pints of whiskey in that time easily. They drank it like water and guzzling half a bottle at a time was normal. There was a guy I worked with and who rode with me, that had a wife that didn't like him to drink hard liquor [ beer was ok ]. He would stop at a liquor store about 7 minutes from his house and have a pint of whiskey drank before we got there. No chaser. Just turned it up and drank in gulps. People who have drank for years are extremely skilled at hiding it.

This got my curiosity going and so I went and watched most of the docu. It seems that, no matter what every expert tells them, the family denies "She couldn't have done that" and tries to find any reason not to blame this on drugs and alcohol. They try to say she had a stroke or use an abscessed tooth to explain it all, even blaming the tooth for causing a stroke.
They also say she was a very controlling, private person, who never discussed any issues she may have had with anyone. She seems like a very tightly wound, secretive person, who could have hid a drinking problem, even from her husband, quite easily. Even if she did Not have a drinking problem, the abscessed tooth may have caused her to use the alcohol and weed as a pain killer. I once had to live with a abscess for a weekend and I can tell you, it is incredibly painful. She had one for years and refused to get it fixed. The pain may have got to the point she would have done almost anything to get it to stop, including alcohol and marijuana.
I think this is a case of the family wanting to preserve the image of a loved one and are in denial.

originally posted by: DAVID64
I think this is a case of the family wanting to preserve the image of a loved one and are in denial.

That's my take on it too, especially after the guy gets in touch with them about the medical reports having done 2 tests both showing the same toxicology and running a DNA test to ensure the test is from the correct person.

She was high and drunk, people can do crazy things in those altered states, a toothache is no excuse for what happened

originally posted by: Discotech

originally posted by: DAVID64
I think this is a case of the family wanting to preserve the image of a loved one and are in denial.

That's my take on it too, especially after the guy gets in touch with them about the medical reports having done 2 tests both showing the same toxicology and running a DNA test to ensure the test is from the correct person.

She was high and drunk, people can do crazy things in those altered states, a toothache is no excuse for what happened

+1 to both of these things. I'm sure she was a good person and much loved, but frankly this sounds more like denial than a mystery.

I mean, even if she was a closet alcoholic, she was drunk at the time she was at the gas station. She wouldn't just slip into delirium within an hour's time. Pro alkiezs don't behave that way. A pro alcoholic wouldn't drive down two miles of highway and not know it was backwards

I get bored sometimes, OK?

I did a little research, both online and off. I'll spare you the list of sources and just lay it all out: while the eyewitnesses describe her as sober on the day of the accident, she tested positive (via multiple, independent means) for a large amount of alcohol and a fair amount of THC. A broken bottle of vodka was also found in the vehicle. She apparently tried to purchase over-the-counter painkillers that day as well.

She was impaired.

Whether or not she was an alcoholic isn't for me to say, but I think the evidence would support the collective sentiment that this is a loving act of denial by her family.

a reply to: ParadigmMind

I agree ,but what made her drive like a bat out of hell
Up an off ramp down the highway with all those kids in the van

a reply to: Toolman18

Ever heard of auto-brewery syndrome?

vinepair.com...

Not saying it`s related by it could explain the high level of alcohol in her blood.