Med. Examiner: 2nd Schuler Tests May Show Less Alcohol %

The Westchester Medical Examiner's office has taken the preemptive measure of saying that the second round of test results on the body of Taconic crash driver Diane Schuler may vary from the original toxicology and autopsy findings. The original results revealed Schuler to have a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit as well as traces of marijuana in her system while driving in the crash that killed eight. A spokesman for the county's chief medical examiner said, "Due to the time period that has passed, the amount of alcohol that will show up in the samples when they are retested will be reduced and the marijuana can disappear." But Newsday talks to forensics experts who seem unclear on why such a statement was made, the toxicologists they speak to saying there's no reason the result would change much—if anything it could go up over time. The question now is whether such a defensive stance from the ME's office will only fuel the suggestions of a plot that have been hinted at by Daniel Schuler's lawyer, Dominic Barbara (pictured). But the examiner says they are simply encouraging the Schuler family quickly select a lab for the additional autopsy tests the Schulers have requested.