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Photograph of Alyson Hance, 7, Kate Hance, 5 and Emma Hance, 8, who were killed while their aunt was driving their father's minivan, with their parents
On July 26, Schuler, who was driving her two children and three nieces back to Long Island from a Sullivan County campground, had apparently been driving erratically and ultimately ended up on the wrong side of the Taconic. Schuler, her daughter Erin, and nieces Alyson, Kate, and Emma Hance, were killed, while, in an SUV driven by Guy Bastardi, the Bastardis and their friend Daniel Longo were also killed. Schuler's 5-year-old son was the only survivor.
The minivan is apparently registered to Schuler's brother—and her nieces' father—Warren Hance. Hance and his wife Jackie issued a statement today:
"In all the uncertainly and speculation as to how this accident occurred, this is the absolute last thing that we ever would've expected. We would never knowingly allow our daughters to travel with someone who might jeopardize their safety. Because we have never known Diane to be anything but a responsible and caring mother and aunt, this toxicology report raises more questions than it provides answers for our family."
The state police are continuing to investigate the crash, but said they have received "limited" information from Schuler's family. Schuler's husband Danny has reportedly hired lawyer Dominic Barbera.
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They can't sue Diane Schuler so they go after her family? Give me a break. They are not responsible for a grown woman's negligence. They lost family members in this accident too. I hope the suit is thrown out.
i dont know what the deal is with this "accomplice" thing, but the family does have a case for wrongful death. and they won't need a jury... if they go through with the lawsuit, they will settle out of court.
They can say the husband should've known better than to let her take the kids, let alone drive, if she had a history of drunk driving or erratic behavior. And if something happened that morning when they were together, forget about it.
Those poor parents - their lives have been destroyed. I don't know how people survive something like this...
Those poor children/grandchildren of the men in the SUV. Imagine how terrified they must have been. Imagine thinking that's how your grandfather or your brother died.
It's hard to stop a drunk or an addict from doing stupid things usually. I suppose the guy could have physically restrained her but he'd be the one charged with assault right now. As always, the lawyers can be counted to cash in on both sides.
If he knew, he could have kept her from taking five kids maybe. Instead he went fishing?
Do they have any money?
I liken this to poker, where everyone takes a share of the pot and the house wins big on rake. After an hour, the house is up $50 and everyone is down $5.
So who's the house? The lawyers.
Their lawyer is doesn't know his head from his ass. A basic principal of law is that it takes more than knowledge to be an accomplice.
Basic principles of law mean little if you can stack a jury full of gullible twits and sell them a bullshit story. Or just convince the other guy that you can and get them to settle.
Maybe the husband was blotto too.
maybe the husband was off sticking his fishing pole into a hole that smelled like fish, and she knew it
"...as to how this accident occurred, this is the absolute last thing that we ever would've expected....
Bad choice of words there considering the empty vodka bottle they found in the car...Absolut(e)
Hilarious AND classy! Keep it up - that 5-year-old will learn to read eventually.
I would look at the husband a bit closer. Even if she was a heavy drinker, something else must have triggered her off.
"Any person who was aware that she was drinking is an accomplice" Would that include the people who served her at McDonald's and possibly the New York State Police, and a fellow traveler on the road that saw her take a stiff belt? I would say find a new lawyer soon.
No.
Sadly, alcoholics (addicts) need nothing to "set them off".
you sue precisely because you want more information, you want testimony.
I don't think she first started drinking and smoking that morning. There has to be a history. If she had 10 shots of Vodka and who knows how many joints, it started at the campsite or wherever she was. That makes her husband complicit. He may have been stoned as well.
If she had prior DUI's and the state didn't revoke her license, I want them sued too.
ok wait, how is it that no one has yet made fun of the last name? Bastardi? eh?
Because we grieve with them. I'm sure the jokes weren't funny before either.
How much money is the lives of three little girls worth?
That's how much the victim's family deserves.
Maybe some punishment may due on the husband's part.
Maybe on the DMV or local police.
But to use your children's death as an opportunity to cash in is almost (but not) as despicable as driving as wasted as this lady was, especially with little kids in the car.
The parents of the children killed are not suing. It is the family of the other people she killed that have retained counsel.
Not yet anyway, I think it's a matter of time before they sue as well
My heart breaks for them, I can't imagine losing 3 children at once
They can sue the family's liability insurance or look at a possible umbrella policy that can be sued. Heck, they may sue their own insurance.
I was in a car wreck as a kid, and we were hit by an uninsured station wagon full of illegal Mexicans, speeding and running a red light. My parents were in the hospital for 3 and 6 months respectively, and while the other driver was found at fault and liable, there was nothing to sue for. So, we sued our own car and health insurance policies, which were refusing to cover the other driver's lack of coverage (hence why so many states are now no-fault).
Anyway, there will be a lot of people to sue here, and the money will come from somewhere.
S.D. Step back from the situation a bit. The husband and wife are at a camping site situation. The trip is over. The wife realizes that her husband is continuing on with a "fishing trip". That most likely consists with a young bitch. She calls her brother in a total tither and he calls the State Police that his sister is distraught.
She, not being a great driver to begin with goes wacko.
I don't know about that one way or another, my point is simply, if she was an alcoholic, she needed no excuse.
Regardless of her history, she got into a car while in a state of intoxication. Granted, while drunk, no one is able to make rational decisions, but that was entirely her doing, no one else.
If the toxicology report is accurate and she had alcohol in her stomach, this tragedy is entirely her fault. To compound this horrible event (both sides lost family), her family may end up paying for her tragic mistake.
I agree. And since she loads up on Absolute and weed, her driving skills deteriorate even further.
Until the state police release what the content of the conversation that her brother said to them. It's all conjecture.
I believe that the state police don't scramble patrol cars unless they have a reason to do so.
i think it's a suicide -- if the woman got blitzed on vodka in a short amount of time and smoked a joint, all while already on the road (according to the camp groundskeeper, she didn't reek of alcohol or look like shit upon leaving), she was on a mission. also, she drove across the grass divider on the road, then called her brother to let him know shit was up (oooh, i'm so disoriented, something might happen), then ignored his advice to stay put and tossed the phone on the road (so he wouldn't keep calling or get tracked?), drove up an exit ramp, and drove at high speeds against traffic. i bet she actually swerved to hit the bastardis after missing so many cars coming her way. SICK.
Good luck finding a jury who will award money from a father who lost his daughters and son went to the hospital.
This all assumes if Diane Schuler was a divorced woman without siblings, then nobody could be at fault.
Isn't Dominic Barbera a divorce attorney and Howard Stern cronie? Good choice.
Wow! Well they were driving an SUV so it's no surprise they are assh*les!