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Photograph of Danny Schuler (left) with his lawyer Dominic Barbara in Garden City, NY by Seth Wenig/AP
He also retained lawyer Dominic Barbara to represent him as allegations and questions about his wife Diane's actions swirl. Newsday reports that Babara said Diane Schuler "rarely drank. [She] wasn’t an alcoholic but was diabetic and may have suffered a stroke before the July 26 crash north of New York City. He says she also had a mouth abscess for several weeks and a bump on her leg." Barbara also said, "I think she had a stroke of some sort. From the stroke came all other issues that happened."
The 36-year-old mother of two had been driving her children and her brother's three daughters from a campsite in Sullivan County back to Long Island. Along the route, other drivers say they saw a minivan (matching the description of Schuler's minivan) driving erratically. And then, somehow, Schuler got onto the wrong side of the Taconic, driving for 1.7 miles in spite of other driver's honking their horns, until she crashed into a SUV carrying a father, son, and family friend. Schuler, her two-year-old daughter, and three young nieces were killed, as well as the SUV's three passengers; her five-year-old son was the only survivor.
The Daily News reports that Danny Schuler, who doesn't believe the toxicology report stating his wife had a blood alcohol level of 0.19 (2x the legal limit) and pot in her system), wants his wife's body exhumed and an independent autopsy. However, Westchester County Medical Examiner Dr. Millard Hyland told Newsday, "I stand behind those results. I think we did everything we should have done examining those tissues."
While Danny Schuler and Schuler's brother, Warren Hance, (who is grieving over the loss of his three daughter) claim Schuler did not have a drinking problem (that they know of), the Post spoke to a friend who said Diane Schuler "seemed under pressure, like work and family were getting to her. Her marriage seemed a bit rocky, and I think she felt trapped by it. For the last couple of months, she didn't appear to be a happy woman." The friend added, "I wouldn't say she was an alcoholic, but she liked her drinks... She liked her vodka." (The shattered remains of an Absolut Vodka bottle were found in the minivan.)
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I don't understand all the ambiguity. Why isn't the medical examiner's report that provides an approximate BAC taken into account?
How is the lawyer deflecting that information as well as the bottle found in the car?
In fairness, Does the toxicology report show signs of long term alcoholism?
In any case, she was still intoxicated that day.
Apparently she favored screwdrivers, so I'd be curious if her stomach had any orange juice in it. If so, a screwdriver in the morning could be easily disguised as not drinking.
Maybe he's right... I dunno. There are a lot of contradictory things about this case, I don't have an issue with him following his convictions to whatever end they produce.
Does anyone know how someone could sue her family for her actions? I know there is talk of a lawsuit, but I don't understand how her family can be held responsible. Does anyone know the law on this?
The minivan was apparently registered to her brother (whose three girls died in the crash)—so that's why a lawyer repping two of the SUV's victims says a civil lawsuit will be filed.
Even though the driver is dead, you can still sue her estate and get damages out of that. Her insurance company is also still on the hook.
The registration of the car is irrelevant.
because if her family knew she was drunk or high and let her drive anyway, it's contributory negligence, as well as borderline accessory to the crime.
they should test the husband for pot
If she did have the stroke when did the pot come from? How about the bottle in the car? Did she buy it the same day or the day before?
Since the crash occurred on a Sunday, the alcohol was probably purchased on a previous day . . .
Liquor stores in New York state can be open on Sundays. They have to close one day a week, but it no longer has to be Sunday.
Indeed, but few liquor stores currently choose to close on other days. It's not impossible to purchase alcohol on a Sunday, but it's certainly difficult.
But he did see her smoke weed before. So is his story that he knew she was a pot smoker but she must have had a stroke that caused her to go out and buy a giant bottle of vodka and start drinking heavily while driving a minivan full of kids? Is that his story?
I think it's hysterical how the husband is blaming everyone and everything EXCEPT his wife.
oh, it was a stroke.... she's a diabetic. plus, she had a heart condition and asthma.
then the blame is gonna fall on the car.
the breaks failed, the stearing wheel was busted.
I'm waiting for him to say gnomes started jumping around in the backseat and then a unicorn showed up.
Yeah, it's a hysterical that a guy who just had his wife and a kid killed, another kid hospitalized, three nieces killed... might say something illogical or might want to avoid facing everything that happened. Hysterical.
+1 jay
It was the bump on her leg that moved that made her drink and toke up. Hell, maybe the bump on her leg snuck off at McDonald's and scored the pot and then reassimilated into her body. Or aliens could have abducted her - that would account for the fact it took her 3 times as long as it should have to drive from the campsite to the bridge.
This guy is a liar who knows he is going to get sued for every cent he has. And his brother is going to get sued cause he owned the car. Not that it's the right thing to do. Fact of the matter is he left his wife in charge of 5 children under the age of 9 for several hours while he took off with the dog to go fishing at the relatively late hour of 9:30 am.
Also, this jackass was on the Today show this morning but he still has cooperated with State Police. The Westchester DA just asked Suffolk County Child Protective Services to look into whether this man left his children knowlingly in the care of an alcoholic pot-smoking wife. The gloves are off.
Well you don't have to be a long term alcoholic to go on a drinking spree. This story is certainly bizarre no matter how you look at it, but Occam's out hunting for some of you commenters with his razor. And let me tell you that razor is sharp.
Or as they put it in med school, if you hear hoofbeats you think horses, not zebras.
I read in the paper that he worked a 4pm to midnight shift and she worked a day shift at her job. Their paths probably didn't cross that much except for weekends and holidays.
I guess she could've maybe kept her drinking secret. I have loads of secrets from my husband and he is always around!
If it can be proved that he knew about her drinking, especially on that day, then there's your lawsuit for negligence. He had a duty to prevent a wrong which he could have reasonably foreseen. Instead, he went fishing.
"I have loads of secrets from my husband and he is always around!"
you dirty girl. do tell.
I hate secrets kept from spouses.
Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, as they say.
It's obvious what the answer is and I kinda feel bad for the guy assuming he's telling the truth. Everything he's ever known about his wife just got shot down in flames. It's going to take him some time to accept the reality - that there was no medical issue and that she got way drunk and way high and killed herself and the kids. That's an awful lot for anyone to absorb.
Diabetes or a stroke doesn't jack your BAC up to .19 and pour 6 grams of undigested alcohol in your stomach, though. It is what it is. He's just not there yet.
"I never saw her drunk since the day I met her. She was not an alcoholic..."
Hey Danny, denial is not just a river in Egypt.
runner up.
The son who survived is 5, can't they ask him anything about what went on in that car/hell ride??
The state police want question him, but it's unclear whether they haven't been able to yet because of the family or because of medical issues (or something else).
So has he been tested for anything yet? Was he smoking weed and drinking with her that morning?
I will never be able to understand how a person like the husband in this situation is even able to form sentences. He must be in such an insane swirl of pressure, grief, and regret. I don't think I would be able to do it.
It would be merciful for him if the son remembered nothing of the ride.
Could the husband be lying? Has that ever happened in situations where a spouse has inflicted such enormous damage and liability claims? Seriously, the lawyer needs to find a better spin because he's got the coroner's office, the NY State Police and the upcoming testimony of a 5 year old survivor working against his client.
I'm thinking pot brownies.
(Maaaaaydaaaaaayyyyy, Dominic, maaaaaaydaaaaaaay!)
I can't imagine how a BAC like that and a bottle of vodka can be attributed to a stroke or diabetes...
And if the family knew she was drunk they should be punished.
But the lawsuit is BS. No amount of money will bring those people back. Shame on anyone who uses a death in the family as a chance to cash in.
Well, seeing how the driver of the car is dead I think the families of those 3 men are trying to *punish* someone by taking away what they have left. I don't think they are trying to *cash in*. They want whatever kind of justice they can get. Since they can't get their family members back and no one is going to go to jail for this, I'm sure this seems like the only way to enact any sort of punishment to them.
Thats BS and we both know it.
If there's guilt the courts will find it.
People just sue at the drop of a hat and gullible jury's encourage the practice.
I once ran over a pedestrian (his fault) and I had to pay for the repairs of my car and my legal fees... he was really poor and had no family or anything so I couldn't sue anybody...
Seth Wenig is the hardest working AP photographer. The SATC auditions yesterday, and now this.
Also, yes, i don't understand how a stroke= BAC of .19 + THC in her blood.
Drunks don't stop on the side of the road to call to say they are drunk. She was obviously disoriented. Believe me I have encountered a friend during a diabetic episode and I would have sworn he was drunk, except that I knew he didn't drink. Save your judgement on this one. Don't compound this tragedy with hasty, misinformed decisions. This woman does not seem to be the type to load up her kids and start drinking. Her brother certainly doesn't look like he would accept that type behavior from anyone with his kids.
Apparently this one did. Because a) she stopped on the side of the road to call her brother (but apparently did not say she was drunk and b) she was drunk as hell, as the BAC results prove with devastating certainty. She was disoriented because she was drunk and high off her ass.
Just because she never got drunk and loaded up the kids before doesn't mean she didn't do it this time. If it's true that she was having marital problems and was despondent, that much liquor + pot could have distorted her judgment enough and lowered her inhibitions enough to let just about anything happen.
Sorry man, facts are facts. Just because people don't want to face doesn't make them any less true.
Plus an anonymous friend with all the bad news about her. Easy enough to find. There is plenty of time if she is guilty, slow down.
"Diabetic Episodes" with altered mental status are due to LOW blood sugar, and that ONLY happens to folks on medication, such as insulin. And nothing, not even the most severe ketosis, gives you a false positive BAC, especially with undigested ethanol in the gut. Vitreous (the fluid in the eye) reflects the glucose at the time of death, and is routinely sampled. If the corpse still had globes, it was likely checked. The presence of THC in the blood does not correlate with the time of ingestion or level of impairment. Implications are possible, but haven't seen the numbers. Alcohol was def a factor, weed possible but not confirmed. Busted Vodka bottle supports BAC. Exhumed body will be useless for BAC, glucose, especially if enbalmed. And, at that time of day, if you stop at McD's, they do serve OJ. Occam rides again.
She had a THC plasma level of 113 ng/mL, which unequivocally indicates recent consumption. That being said, the alcohol was the principal impairing factor in this crash.
I can think of a million questions and very few certainties, and yet I can't seem to stop myself from commenting. For instance, was the vodka bottle found *in* the van, or near it? If it did come from the van, could it have belonged to the Hance family (the car's owners) and not the Schulers? Who is this malicious piece of shit 'friend' spouting off to the Post (shocker!) anonymously? Is the lawyer's story that a stroke caused her to start drinking? Don't the Bastardi/Longo families see that the Hances and Schulers have been punished enough? Will money really matter to anyone other than the insurance companies at this point?
I feel really sorry for everyone involved, including Diane Schuler. We may never really know what happened, but I do think that questioning the boy is necessary, regardless of his trauma.
The bottle was found, broken, in the car.
Also, the family attorney appears to be rather uneducated in medical issues that she is trying to push. E.g., "Nonetheless, Barbara did say after today’s press conference that it was possible Diane Schuler drank alcohol to raise her blood sugar level.”
“You might want to self-medicate with something to bring the level up,” Barbara said".
Unfortunately, that makes no sense, since alcohol will lower your blood sugar, especially if she *was* diabetic.
And if you want to raise your blood sugar there are millions of better ways to do it than drinking vodka while driving a minivan full of kids.
Yeah, but orange juice tastes funny without vodka in it.
With that BAC plus the reserve in stomach, this guy claiming diabetes just about makes him a suspect.
According to her family, she would never see a doctor if she was sick, she would just power through it. So if she did have diabetes and her husband knew it and she refused to go to the doctor, it still makes his a d-bag for leaving her to drive 5 children home by herself.
Id marry her agian, right after this trip to Gallagers 2000 is over.
She might have had a keto acidosis event, That will give slurd speach and a high bac. It would also give her confusion and vision issues. Maybe she smoke some pot the day before.
Ketoacidosis does not lead to a high BAC. It can be caused by the dehydration caused by excessive alcohol consumption, however . . .
He's just trying to have plausible deniability in case he gets sued. By feigning ignorance from the beginning, he's making the prosecutor work to have to prove that he knew she was a drunk.