Autopsy Reveals No Clues In Fatal Taconic Crash

Possibly a T.I.A. but that stuff can be so scary to the 'uninitiated' that she would definitely be pulling over and dialing 911. The whole thing is just senseless and horrible.

If she really wanted to kill herself, would she do so with not only her children, but her nieces as well? I cannot fathom someone would be so heartless and callous.

If it was suicide then I hope she rots in hell for killing all those people.

Maybe she was distracted.

She was in the wrong lane for a min and a half which isn't much time at all, she had the five young kids in her car that could have been causing some sort of distraction.

People are thinking those two miles are forever, but when you egoing 65-70 mph, that flies by like nothing.

I didn't mean an intentional suicide, but a suicidal death caused by being very distraught effected by a recent event. Again it's only speculation, but I believe when someone who has received very disturbing news has a certain blindness, both physically and mentally and their focus is not on the present but the perceived issue at hand.

They have not released the content of the conversation with her brother. Obviously it was disturbing enough that he would notify the state police. Perhaps when and if they release that conversation that will clarify certain issues surrounding this unfortunate event.

Fortunately the authorities have waited until the funerals have taken place.

It's amazing how many commenters are jumping to the conclusion that it was suicide. A suicidal person wouldn't claim to be sick. She would have just said she's going to end it all then tossed the phone so nobody could talk her out of it. People trying to kill themselves usually don't have any reason to hide their intention. After all, they're about to die. What can anyone possibly do to them? The police say it wasn't a suicide, but apparently all these armchair detectives are smarter than that.

"She would have just said she's going to end it all then tossed the phone so nobody could talk her out of it."

If you read the updated story closer it appears she abandoned her cell phone on a Jersey barrier somewhere around Tarrytown.

Thanks for the great link junecarter. Why would someone abandon their cellphone after making a call to their brother? Some parts of this story are not coming out in full.

Unfortunately it looks like a suicide by a very distraught woman. Or the women was so disturbed that she couldn't think or see straight. I believe it's called "tunnel vision." The marital relationship needs to be studied further.

My brother actually works in that Fire Dept and thankfully was not one of the responders. I wouldn't want him witnessing that.

So very sad, and so confusing at the same time.

It certainly was not suicide. That would have been more apparent at this point. Perhaps she was disroeinted but felt pressure to get to her destination, or was just so out of it that she was unable to make decisions.

She was going on the highway for about a minute and a half before crashing, with several peopel calling 911 to report it.

The two vehicles that hit had a combined speed of over 120mph. Just no chance of survival.

She could have had marital problems which distracted her. Why did she call her brother rather than her husband regarding her "problems" prior to the accident?

>>>Schuler spoke with her husband, Daniel, before calling her brother. The husband had left the campground at the same time as his wife, but was heading for another destination. Police did not share the content of that conversation.

From this article: http://www.lohud.com/article/20090729/NEWS02/907290350/1018/Other-drivers-tried-to-warn-mom--police-say

I doubt suicide, what reason to take all those kids (some of them not hers?). Seizure? Doubtful, even post-ictal I doubt she would have had the coordination to dodge oncoming cars for two miles. Hypoglycemic? possible, but the post would have documented the sugar, and unless she was a diabetic on meds, very rare. My bet? Zolpidem. Hope they're checking for it on the tox. Paradoxical reaction to whatever she might have been taking for "feeling bad" (Benadryl, Nyquil, etc) second guess. Nonetheless, a tragic loss to so many.

If it was suicide I wonder what was wrong in her life? Was she an unhappy person? did her husband do something wrong?

I don't think we'll ever get the answers to why she drove the wrong direction in broad daylight.

Wrong #8. The Taconic is 3 lanes where she was driving (it's 2 lanes further north). There is no way she could have not noticed (as others have pointed out) the cars swerving to get out of the way. 6 people were able to call 911 before she crashed and she drove the wrong way for 2 miles.

It was clearly a suicide.

There are many distracted drivers on the road. If she used her cellphone earlier perhaps she was also trying to use it just shortly before the accident. Cell phone use plus a crew of yapping children is not conducive to good driving. It also appears she thought she was driving on a two lane road rather than a divided parkway.

Were there no other cars on the parkway at the time? Why else would she not realize she was driving the wrong way?

Whatever she had must've been pretty bad and serious -- for this to happen. It's awful. I pity everyone affected.

There were other cars, it was around 1:30 in the afternoon! There are reports of her swerving around several cars and several other drivers calling 911 as she was still on the road.

This is a genuine humdinger!

They can't find anything on the driver's toxicology report or a history of any illness. One thing was looked over and that is sheer stupidity. Isn't it possible that the driver just isn't too brilliant and might have been pre-occupied with god knows what?! Or did they check to see if she was super-religious because they love to die.

If you're in that bad shape, don't you pull over, instead of keep driving the wrong direction for 2 miles? I'm calling suicide on this one.

I wonder if she was having a migraine. Disorientation and trouble seeing are both symptoms, and there probably wouldn't be any evidence of it in an autopsy.

First thought was either brain aneurysm or a migraine with visual aura. The first time I had a migraine (never even had the headache part) I started feeling very weird--like out of my body. Then part of my visual field disappeared altogether--things just weren't there, then floating objects, then weird pulsating lights...it lasted 20 minutes altogether. The rest of the day I feel wiped out--tired, fuzzy thinking etc. I've had one episode each year from then on, and I know if I'm driving to pull over--lasts exactly 20 minutes for the visual problems to go away. Of course everyone is different so if this was her first episode who knows what might have occurred? Hard to see how this can be diagnosed via autopsy as they are claiming.

Actually, on second thought, scratch that. She must have had a migraine before if she got one at that age and then she would have known what was happening and what she should do. So it seems less likely. And if it was suicide why would she call her brother and say she felt sick? That seems weird.

That's actually not a bad theory. As a migraine sufferer, I've often gone to work. Most people I know who get them "soldier on" and try to do the normal routine. But it's one thing to take public transportation with a migraine and another thing to operate a vehicle. With sensitivity light and the tricks that migraines can play on your eyesight, that's pretty dangerous.