Results tagged “taconicstateparkway”

Last week, NBC dramatic warhorse Law & Order continued its "ripped from the headlines" mantra and filmed a crash at Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard at West 151st Street that resembled this past summer's Taconic State Parkway wrong-way crash that left eight people dead. In the Taconic incident, mother of two Diane Schuler was apparently drunk and high when she rammed her minivan—carrying her two children and three nieces—into a car carrying three adults, killing everyone, except Schuler's young son. The Post says the L&O crash features a "Chevy Astro minivan -- packed with kids -- north in the southbound lane of the boulevard, causing a fiery crash that leaves the minivan and another car burned to a crisp."

The Westchester District Attorney's office announced that no charges will be filed against the husband of the woman who, while apparently drunk and high, crashed her minivan while driving the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway, killing eight people. Westchester DA Janet Fiore said, "Diane Schuler died... and the charges died with her."

Exactly two weeks after Diane Schuler's fateful wrong way drive and crash on the Taconic left eight people dead, a woman was pulled over after driving across the Tappan Zee Bridge in the wrong direction. The 75-year-old woman from Irvington made it two miles across the bridge to the Rockland County side before being stopped by state troopers. She told that them that she was aware that she had been driving the wrong way, but kept going because she thought there would be a place to make a U-turn. The woman had even gone through the tolls in the wrong direction—the TZ toll lanes have no arm to block her. She ended up driving in the wrong direction from the Westchester side after she accidentally entered the off-ramp from the highway, missing her exit to get on the Major Deegan Expressway. Police ticketed her for improperly entering a highway, driving in the wrong direction and reckless driving. The incident took place ominously close to where Schuler's deadly drive went haywire, accidentally getting on the Saw Mill Parkway in Tarrytown before heading back toward the Taconic.

Prosecutors today said that criminal charges are unlikely for Daniel Schuler for any indirect involvement in the Taconic crash which killed 8 and was caused by his wife Diane. Prosecutors do not believe that Mr. Schuler was aware that his wife was intoxicated when she left the campground they were staying at began the fatal trip home. That still begs the question why Schuler has been publicly disputing the findings of the autopsy this past week. An attorney suggested to WCBS 2 that it was an early defense against any civil charges and said, "For obvious reasons, the family wants to rehabilitate this lady's reputation. She's not the most popular person out there. To most people, she committed a murder." The News talks to a recovering alcoholic and longtime addiction counselor who says that Mr. Schuler's denials that he had never seen his wife drunk combined with evidence that she was a closet drinker hits close to home for her. She tells the paper, "I could not control the drinking, and I could not admit it to myself or anyone else. It's a lot of loneliness and shame. You're living a double life."

The family of Diane Schuler continued their media push, in an attempt to dispute findings that she was drunk and high when she crashed a minivan carrying five children into an SUV carrying three adults on the Taconic State Parkway while driving from a Sullivan County campground back to Long Island two weeks ago. She killed herself, her daughter, three nieces, and the SUV's driver and passengers. Her husband Danny said, "She is not an alcoholic and my heart is rested every night when I go to bed." And today, his lawyer, sister-in-law and a private investigator appeared on the Today show: Lawyer Dominic Barbara said, "We all have to accept certain facts. When she left the campground, she was absolutely sober," while Danny Schuler's sister said, "We just can't explain what happened to Diane," and emphasized her sister-in-law did not drink heavily, only socially.

The husband of the woman who, while allegedly drunk and high, drove a minivan on the wrong side of the Taconic State Parkway, killing herself, four relatives, and three men in an SUV, says that his wife was only a social drinker. Danny Schuler told the press, "I never saw her drunk since the day I met her. She was not an alcoholic. Something medically must have happened. She was a perfect wife, an outstanding mother, a hard worker, a reliable person. I would marry her again tomorrow."

With news that Diane Schuler was intoxicated while driving a minivan on the wrong side of the Taconic State Parkway and crashed into an SUV, killing its three passengers, relatives of the SUV's driver and a passengers are planning to file a civil suit against Schuler's family. Attorney Irving Anolik, representing the family of Guy Bastardi and his father Michael Bastardi, said that there's a "strong fragrance of criminality" and said anyone who knew of Diane Schuler's impaired condition may "possibly be an accomplice... Any person who was aware that she was drinking is an accomplice... It's hard for me to believe that the family did not know that this woman had an alcohol problem or a drug problem."

Yesterday, the NY State Police confirmed media reports that Diane Schuler, the 36-year-old woman who had driven on the wrong side of the Taconic State Parkway—killing herself, her 2-year-old daughter, and three young nieces as well as three men in an SUV—was drunk and high. The NY Times explained the details of the toxicology report, "She had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, and even more alcohol still in her stomach, so fresh that it had yet to be metabolized. There were high levels of a chemical found in marijuana, enough to pinpoint her last use at 15 minutes to an hour before her death in the worst traffic accident in Westchester County in 75 years."

The state police are continuing to investigate the tragic July 26 crash on the Taconic Parkway that killed 8 people. Police have been retracing the route Diane Schuler took before somehow ending up on the wrong side of the parkway and crashing into a SUV, killing its three passengers. Schuler, her daughter and three nieces were also killed; the crash's only survivor was her five-year-old son. Update below: A toxicology report apparently indicates Schuler had a high blood alcohol content and traces of pot in her system.

A wake was held on Long Island today for five victims of Sunday's deadly crash on the Taconic Parkway. Diana Schuler was driving the wrong way before crashing into an SUV; Schuler, her daughter and three nieces died while three people inside the SUV were also killed. Autopsy results yesterday ruled out any signs of alcohol, drugs or a medical condition such as a stroke or an aneurysm, or even just sleepiness for 36-year-old Schuler. But today police say that during the phone call to her brother 30 minutes before the crash—when Schuler said she wasn't feeling well—she revealed that she was disoriented and was having trouble seeing. Schuler's family, who held a wake for their loved ones, issued a statement, "We extend our condolences to the Bastardi and Longo families [of the SUV victims] and regret the grief this tragic accident has caused." They also said that 5-year-old Bryan Schuler, the only survivor of the crash, is expected to make a full recovery. Police now await the results of further blood and toxicology tests, available in 4-6 weeks, saying, "We made sure that they’re going to test for everything because we don’t have an answer.”

The woman who drove a minivan full of her children and nieces the wrong way on the Taconic yesterday was feeling ill, but there is no indication of drugs or alcohol being involved in Westchester's worst accident in 75 years. Diane Schuler of West Babylon was on her way home from a weekend camping trip upstate when she called her brother on Long Island to say that she felt sick—apparently so ill that he offered to come get her if she would pull over. However, she didn't know where she was exactly and two hours later, she veered onto the other side of the highway. Schuler, 36, apparently had been on the wrong side for 2 miles before crashing head first into an SUV, killing all three Yonkers men inside it—father and son Michael and Guy Bastardi and their friend Daniel Longo. Schuler, her two-year-old daughter Erin and her three young nieces—Emma, Alison and Kate Hance— all died in the crash. The only survivor was Schuler's five-year-old son Brian, who is amazingly in stable condition. A secondary collision with a Chevy Tracker left a Freehold couple with minor cuts that they were treated for. Police now await autopsy and toxicology results to learn more details of Schuler's condition.