Husband of Wrong-Way Driver Says She Didn't Drink

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

The husband of the woman who police say killed eight people by driving drunk and stoned the wrong way on a New York highway insisted today the toxicology reports cannot be correct.

"My heart is at rest every night I go to bed. She did not drink," Daniel Schuler told a news conference 11 days after the horrific crash on the Taconic State Parkway.

-----

A police toxicology report released this week concluded that Schuler had the equivalent of 10 drinks still in her stomach and had consumed a high amount of marijuana.

-----

Dominic Barbara, a lawyer for the Schuler family, said Diane Schuler was diabetic and suggested that may have contributed to her disoriented condition that morning. He also suggested that Schuler may have suffered a stroke.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=8268313&page=1

[mdmc]

1. he is getting sued now

so to him she didn't drink or smoke

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. OTOH, diabetics are well aware of the complications of drinking.

I find it hard to believe that any diabetic would knowingly down 10 drinks. Diabetics simply cannot be heavy drinkers.

If her doctor backs up the husband's contention that she was diabetic, then there is something else going on here.

[elehhhhna]

14. i know diabetic alcoholics -- one w/ type 1, one w/ type 2

crazy. the type 1 one drives an oil truck in Houston.

[shanti]

151. me too

type 2 diabetic and alcoholic - my sister :( she doesn't drink and drive tho, she's a 'stay at home' drinker. her non-drinking hubby drives when they go out.

[valerief]

30. You think the police falsified the toxicology report?

[Flaneur]

49. Not necessarily, but some other error may have occurred.

Given what her family says, that she was stinking drunk and stoned doesn't make much sense.

[Wizard777]

124. The toxicologist doesn't understand the basics of how intoxication works.

Alcohol cannot intensify the effects of marijuana as she has stated. It's impossible.

[KittyWampus]

88. I know a diabetic who drinks. He's slowly losing his foot.

[Jennicut]

97. Oh we can pound them down by skipping insulin shots

It lowers your blood sugar.

[LisaL]

113. The husband's lawyer actually suggested she might have

been drinking to bring up her sugar levels. As far as I know alcohol actually lowers blood sugar, not brings it up.

"Despite Daniel Schuler's claims, attorney Dominic Barbara conceded it was possible Diane Schuler - who he said was a diabetic - drank alcohol to increase her blood sugar level.

"You might want to self-medicate with something to bring the level up," Barbara said."
http://www.lohud.com/article/2009908070356

[hedgehog]

11. Read the article - there is also testimony from the camp ground

owner.

I don't think we have anything here except a growing mystery.

[Stephanie]

23. Suicide?

Campground owner said she did not smell alcohol on her. Motorist said she seemed in control of the vehicle. Did she chug the vodka then deliberately crash the car? But with children in it? I don't know what to think.

[bettyellen]

40. old friends w-ho could maybe be sued also... wait til people come out of the woodwork

now that the husband has denied it, people will talk.

[left coaster]

2. Way to man up to your lady's horrible actions..

:eyes:

And, yes, it wasn't HIS mistake, but considering the tragic seriousness of the consequences, I know I sure as hell wouldn't be acting like a douche and dodging responsibility.

[atreides1]

12. I don't believe you

And I sure hope we never have to find out!!!

[left coaster]

86. what the fuck does your reply even mean?

:eyes:

[NashVegas]

134. It Means That Was An Asshole Comment To Make

[left coaster]

142. In retrospect, I guess it was..

A very emotional, knee-jerk response on my part.. accent on the jerk. :)

[NashVegas]

144. Understood

It's an emotional issue. I think we make mistakes in seeking rational explanations or solutions, sometimes.

[customerserviceguy]

37. At this point, dodging responsibility

is the only game in town for him, the families of the men in the SUV that she killed are going to sue his (and anybody else's) ass off for this.

I had an ex back in the late 1980's who had a considerable drinking problem that I didn't know about until she moved out, then I started finding cleverly hidden vodka bottles around the house that she had meant to dispose of while not in my presence. Maybe this guy will start finding some, too.

[left coaster]

87. yes, I know why he's dodging responsibility..

I still can't help but feel upset by it. :(

[1monster]

42. Ten drinks in her stomach and high on marijuana too? I call BS on the toxicology report.

Unless one were a serious hard drinker, one would not be able to move after injesting that much alcohol, let alone manage to put a car in drive and work the pedals.

The effects of alchohol are almost instantaneous. Within thirty seconds, she would have been feeling some effects from the first drink.

Ten drinks? No. I don't buy it. That much still in her stomach would have been enough to put most nondrinkers into a coma and kill a diabetic outright.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

56. Somehow, I'm going to side with the toxicologist.

Rather than a person who things the effects of alchohol (sic) are instantaneous.

[1monster]

95. Almost was the word I used. And from personal experience. But then perhaps you

drink a whole lot more than I do and are more impervious to the effects than someone who has one (very weak) drink three to five times a year.

Oh, and so sorry for the typo. I sometimes add letters and sometimes miss letters. I'm really bad about dropping the "s" on the end of words. I seriously regret offending your perfectness with an extra "h". :eyes:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

150. Oh, you've got anecdotal evidence from very occasional drinking?

Wow, I didn't know that. That totally puts an actual toxicologist and his "science" to shame.

[tabasco]

64. You ain't been to the same parties I been to. n/t

[Xithras]

78. That's 14 ounces of vodka, for comparison.

I've been at some parties where I've downed that much alcohol, but I was so wasted by the end that I couldn't have found my pockets, much less the keys in them.

BTW, the standard measure for a "drink" is 1.5Tbs of pure alcohol per drink, or just under an ounce of alcohol per glass assuming vodka with 40% alcohol content.

[SuperTrouper]

148. Hopefully she is burning in Hell. The poor kids had no chance. nt

[WriteDown]

3. He may have been in denial....

This is going to be nuts.

[Warpy]

4. Something's really fishy here

10 drinks still in her stomach? That means at least 10 drinks chugged rapidly within the previous 20 minutes. I don't know of anybody but stupid frat boys or end stage alcoholics who do things like that.

In addition, she called someone and said she didn't feel well, had blurry vision and disorientation. This isn't consistent with the usual behavior of an alcoholic.

I'm not saying it's impossible that she chugged over half a pint of vodka as she was roaring down the highway. I'm just saying the whole thing is fishy.

The autopsy should determine if there is enough damage to body systems to confirm or deny alcoholism as the root cause.

[WarhammerTwo]

7. You beat me to it....

I was gonna post the same exact sentiments. Sounds real fishy to me. Her 5 year old son survived the crash. Hopefully when he recovers (God bless his little heart), he'll be able to shed some light on what was wrong with his mom and what she did or did not consume. Until then, I'm not ready to jump to conclusions and jump all over the families who just lost all of their children in this horrible tragedy.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Perhaps a suicide?

Sad, but it happens...

[Wizard777]

22. I've already caught the ,ahem, toxicologist in a Bull Shit story.

So I would start there. most of the evidence has probably been eliminated during the first autopsy and residuals destroyed by embalming. But I would get a second opinion.

[Lagomorph]

158. Maybe the toxicologist...

contaminated the evidence with her own samples after a long lunch. It really sounds fishy.

[Wizard777]

160. The Husband is also being a little more honest now.

Bur even a half assed lawyer would have shredded the toxicologist on the stand over that statement.

[Flaneur]

48. And smoked like an ounce of kind bud?

Maybe the toxicology report is wrong. Some error somewhere.

[dysfunctional press]

92. an ounce? where does the toxicology report say any such thing?

:shrug:

[shanti]

152. the bud

had nothing to do with it.

[Xithras]

79. Actually, it's even fishier than that.

She called her brother after she left the campground and while she was driving, telling him that she wasn't feeling well. The accident happened two hours after the phone call.

Assuming that she didn't stop somewhere, she would have needed to have been drinking WHILE she was driving in order to still have that much alcohol in her stomach.

So they're essentially claiming that she was slamming straight vodka as she drove down the road.

[Occulus]

114. something above jumped out at me

"said she didn't feel well, had blurry vision and disorientation."

Are these symptoms an indicator of very high/low blood sugar?

[pokercat999]

125. Yes....symptoms are surprisingly similar for both H and L...nt

[dogfacedboy]

164. ABSOLUTELY! I know from experience. n/t

[ecstatic]

126. Maybe her car was hijacked, and the dead woman is someone else

I know it sounds crazy but it might explain why the cell phone was tossed out the window. I wonder if her identity was ever confirmed? I really don't see how someone would have time to drink and smoke that much with small children around. Of course, this theory would mean that the real mother is out there somewhere...:shrug:

[BeyondGeography]

6. He does not come across as very convincing

I watched that press conference and he had to be prompted to say a word about the other families that were involved in this crash. Totally self-centered, woe is me. Not hard to imagine that his wife could have had things going on in her life that he didn't know about.

[WarhammerTwo]

10. I dunno, Beyond....

If I just lost my wife and almost all my kids in a horrible accident, I don't know if I'd be thinking straight enough to remember to say something about the other families. I haven't seen the video, but putting myself in his shoes, I'd be a mess. I'd be lucky if I remembered how to tie my own shoes at that point. Autopsies, cops, lawyers, news media, funeral arrangements, insurance, horribly injured son still in the hospital....there's a lot of crap that guy has to deal with right now. Let's not be so quick to judge unless we've walked a mile in these folks shoes. K?

[bitchkitty]

13. He just lost his family. Self-centered? n/t

[BeyondGeography]

26. That's right, bitchkitty

The whole press conference came off as nothing more than butt coverage for a looming wrongful death suit.

[sendero]

58. Exactly how...

.... is this guy responsible for what his wife did?

Could one of you know-it-all jackasses explain that to me?

[liberalhistorian]

76. He isn't, and I'm greatly saddened for him, his life has just been

plunged into total hell, as have the lives of all the others as well. However, that won't stop the inevitable legal action. What will happen is that the families of the SUV victims will likely sue the woman's estate, which likely includes some of the husband's assets as well, and will probably win and likely end up getting the vast lion's share of her estate, including anything she may have tried to set aside her for children, in this case, her remaining surviving child. I don't know, however, if the proceeds of life insurance would be subject to seizure, or that of any survivor's benefits from any employment she may have had, or the social security he'll get for the son, as well. Not sure about the laws in that regard, but they shouldn't be. The husband should be able to have SOMETHING remaining for himself and their young son.

The SUV families might also be able to sue him for "vicarious liability", IOW, on the grounds that he "knew or should have known" that she was consuming alcohol and/or drugs and that she was impaired, or that she had a problem. They'll likely be less successful with that one, though.

[bitchkitty]

101. It appears that the poster is mad because the fellow

showed more concern for his dead wife and his three dead children. Hence the "woe is me" remark.

People can be so cold.

[ronnie624]

157. No shit.

Some of the comments about the poor gentleman are astonishing. Some doofuses even hold him responsible for the actions of his wife (assuming the presumptions are true).

[EFerrari]

36. He's probably still in shock. n/t

[liberalhistorian]

74. "Totally self-centered, woe is me?"

Are you KIDDING me? Jesus fucking Christ, he just lost his wife and daughter (most of his family), with a young son in the hospital and also lost three young nieces, and you're complaining that he seemed to be "woe is me?" Lord, I wonder why. What possible reason could he have to feel that way? Good God, some of the people here..................

[dysfunctional press]

93. not to mention that if he's telling the truth- his dead wife is being slandered in the press...

and he's probably been receiving crank calls and death threats to boot.

[LisaL]

102. And how do you explain the toxicology report?

Nobody was "slandering" her until the toxicology came back.

[dysfunctional press]

107. i said "if".

and if she was a functioning alcoholic- there WILL be a trail of purchases, and/or surveillance tapes of her favorite haunts and such.

but- just for a second, imagine that something is fouled up and the report is somehow mistaken- then put yourself in the husband's shoes in that situation.

i'm definitely NOT saying, or even suggesting that is the case- as i wasn't there, i'm not privy to all of the facts surrounding the incident.

it'll be interesting to hear what kind of story the 5 year-old has to tell about mommy in the van- if he even remembers anything.

[LisaL]

108. You are thinking they will be able to get some useful information

out of a five years old who had been in a car crush?
Right.

[dysfunctional press]

109. is there something about the word "if" that you don't understand?

or is that just for starters?

and i apologize- i didn't realize that you were an eye-witness to the entire chain of events...

:eyes:

[LisaL]

129. To accept your IF, I would have to buy that a whole

bunch of people on the toxicology team and accident reconstruction team just conspired to frame this woman for no apparent reason, or that all these people were completely incompetent.

[NashVegas]

135. How Could He Be Anything Else?

It's kind of hard to express feelings of sorrow for someone else's loss, when that someone is jumping down your throat with a lawsuit, regardless of your own losses.

[undeterred]

8. There is something weird about this story.

[Downwinder]

20. Sort of makes you wonder if she worked the Ohio elections.

[defendandprotect]

51. We're missing a lot of info, of course, but I agree with your thinking . . .

[defendandprotect]

50. I don't read this stuff unless I have to . . . but I agree ... odd . . .

seems to be following on the heels of a lot of publicity about legalizing marijuana, for one.

Why would someone drinking vodka in the car not understand that it could "disorient" her?

If she was a secret drinker, she would have had to stop the car to drink if she didn't want
the kids to see her?

Even if "disoriented" why didn't she listen to her brother and pull over?

Concern for the children would suggest she would have done that --
what kind of a rush might she have been in which would have forced her to risk the lives
of her kids?

Don't know how long between the time the individual saw her off at the campgrounds and the
actual accident. That individual said there was no odor of alcohol on her breath -- but
isn't that what vodka is for?

Think we're trying to put a puzzle together with most of the pieces missing -- ?????

[undeterred]

52. If her she sounded drunk when her brother talked to her

and she had 3 of his children in the car you'd think he would have called the police in an effort to get her off the road.

[defendandprotect]

61. Agree with you .... very, very strange ---

I'll have to try to go back and read earlier reports --

didn't know that 3 of the kids were the brother's!!!

The brother did call the police, but 2 hours later . . .

Think there's still a long way to go on this story --

Sad --

[KittyWampus]

90. Not all alchoholics "sound drunk" when they are drinking.

[Roon]

147. I know that for a fact

I uaed to rent to a hardcore drunk in the motel I was working at. Never sounded drunk, never slurred, he didn't even stagger when he walked. I only knew he was a drunk whenver he would say crazy things.

[LisaL]

99. I've seen reports that the brother did call the police.

Although he didn't tell them anything regarding his sister's drinking.

[Hansel]

169. Which might indicate that he didn't know she was drinking.

[Occulus]

115. Someone upthread said she was diabetic. Maybe that was a quote from elsewhere.

If she was, that could account for all of her reported symptoms.

[undeterred]

119. But could it account for the blood alcohol?

[undeterred]

120. But could it account for the blood alcohol?

[NashVegas]

137. He DID Call The Police

Please read the full story that's linked to in the OP.

He called the police two full hours before the accident.

[bettyellen]

143. sorry if i was mistaken there but there were four calls altogether, no details when or what

was said except the brother sick ness story.
and i am calling this diabetes thing a story because self diagnosing bullshit used as an an excuse to buy 1.75 liters of vodka is indeed a "story" as fas as I am concerned....

[NashVegas]

145. These Are the Relevant Ones

During the drive, Schuler called her brother to tell him she wasn't feeling well. He asked her to pull over immediately. Schuler did not pull over, but her brother was worried enough to call the police.

Two hours after the call to her brother, police believe Schuler turned onto the parkway, heading down an exit ramp with signs clearly stating that she was heading the wrong way.

Phone records will show. FYI, from this info I think it likely the brother knew she was drunk off her ass and called the police. The question then becomes, did they or did they not put out a bulletin.

[bettyellen]

156. ummm exactly as I said, that's only one story thr brother told about illness and no time is given

when you know more, anything at all about the other calls please sharee and we can discusss more. got it?

[Hansel]

171. Or her brother knew she was a diabetic and was concerned

about her health and/or that she wasn't oriented enough to make a rational decision and was concerned for the safety of his children. Diabetic shock mimics intoxication.

I'm not saying you are not correct, but there are other explanations for his concern.

[Stephanie]

15. No woman could drink ten drinks and still be standing

I don't believe it. Something's weird here.

[WriteDown]

18. You havent' met some of my ex-girlfriends. nt

[saigon68]

112. ex-wives

I had one who could KNOCK-BACK 8 or 9 Vodka Gimlets, and proceed to act sober

Frightening now that I recall it.

[SuperTrouper]

149. LOL! I know what you mean... nt

[Codeine]

28. You don't know my mom. nt

[nyc 4 Biden]

31. It wasn't like she was having ten mixed drinks.

She was chugging vodka straight from the bottle just prior to the crash. How many gulps would she need to get to 0.19%...5 maybe 6. It's not to unbelievable if you look at it like this. And it did have a severe affect on her ability to operate.

[defendandprotect]

53. Did anyone say they had seen her drinking vodka in car--???

Presume the young son isn't able yet to say anything about the accident?

However . . .

Police initially said they had no indication Schuler was impaired while driving, Carey said.

"We did not have people that morning describe Diane Schuler as anything other than to say she was fine," Carey said.

I don't know what happened here . . .
I do know that she was described as "in control" by drivers who managed to avoid her.
That might describe someone under the influence of a great deal of alcohol.
But, even if she didn't see the signs warning her she was going the wrong way, wouldn't
cars have been honking at her???

Were some of her children old enough to see that she was going the wrong way? To read signs?

Again, I think we're missing a lot of the pieces of the puzzle.

[dflprincess]

94. If she'd been drinking in the car wouldn't they have found some evidence of that at the scene?

:shrug:

It's not impossible that there was a screw up with the toxicology tests.

[LisaL]

100. They found a broken vodka bottle.

[customerserviceguy]

38. Many people develop an incredible tolerance for it

They can be drunk as a skunk, yet you wouldn't know it to watch them from the corner of your eye.

[bettyellen]

41. me me, i've done it more than once.... and took a cab home.

:hi:

[Stephanie]

63. lol!

Well you, of course, you could handle anything! xxS

[bettyellen]

70. i had a very high tolerance as a teenager, thank god i never drove and eventually chilled out!

[KittyWampus]

91. you don't know what a real alchoholic is then.

[MilesColtrane]

139. She was driving standing up?

:shrug:

[Wizard777]

16. The combination of alcohol and marijuana "intensified" the effects of each, Spratt said. Bull Shit!

Law enforcement official may refer to marijuana as a "narcotic." But it is not a narcotic like Opiates. Alcohol will intensify the effects of opiates and vice versa because they utilize the same receptors in the brain. THC is a Hallucinogenic. Alcohol will have no effect upon it and vice versa. They utilize different parts of the brain and will not effect each other. They can produce simultaneous effects. But there is no interaction.

[Seedersandleechers]

62. Personally speaking

alcohol can take me close to the edge, and if I consume some THC at that time, I'm going down - hard and fast. People do react differently to chemicals and combinations of such.

[Wizard777]

121. The can have simultaneous effects. But they do not intensify each other.

They can either have simultaneous effects or intensify each other. But they can't do both. The reason why Alcohol intensifies opiates is because they bond to the same receptors in the brain. That's the opioid receptors. (The endorphins produced by your brain will also bond to the opioid receptors.) So your brain cannot tell the difference between alcohol and heroin. As far as your brain is concerned it's lesser and greater degrees of the same thing. Marijuana bonds to cannabinoid receptors in your brain. Your brain can distinguish between Marijuana and alcohol because they bond to different receptors. This is why they can produce simultaneous effects. This is also why they cannot intensify each others effects. They would have to bond to the same receptors to intensify the effects. They do not. So the toxicologist has made a false statement in saying they intensify each other. They cannot and do not.

To explain in terms of your empirical experience. When you use opiates, lets say heroin, with alcohol. Drinking alcohol on heroin will make you feel like your getting higher on the heroin. This is because they are bonding to the same receptors in the brain. But when you drink on marijuana it doesn't make you feel like your getting higher on the marijuana. It makes you feel drunk AND high. This is because they bond to different receptors in the brain. It's difference between experiencing dual effects and the increase of a singular effect. Both have the potential to put you out as you say. The toxicologist just isn't citing the right process that put her out. If that's what happened. If the toxicologist can make this simple mistake. Chances are she's made other mistakes. Anything she has based on the incorrect notion that alcohol intensifies Marijuana is also incorrect.

[katkat]

17. second autopsy

I think they ought to have a second autopsy done. There are specialist pathologists who can be hired to do this. That's the only way this will be resolved. The local crime lab has a reputation for messing up.

[fishnfla]

24. can the blood sugar levels of a dead person be measured

and correctly?

[funkybutt]

19. Drunks don't usually call to complain of feeling disoriented

So sorry for anyone involved in this. This story almost sounds as if she was not aware that she had consumed alcohol. I've never heard of this scenario but this story doesn't make any sense to me.

[SkyDaddy7]

27. That is what I was thinking...

Why would a drunk call and say she was feeling bad? This is becoming very odd! And I hate to say it but I do not trust the police anymore! I worked in the criminal justice "arena" and saw how evil they can be! I just hope with this being so high profile we will get to the truth.

I feel so bad for the husband and the families involved!!

[hedgehog]

34. Does any police agency have a vested interest in claiming she was drunk?

When the police were notified of the problem, what did they do about it? The suggestion that she was drunk out of her skull places the focus on her and off the two hours between the time her brother called the police and the accident.

[defendandprotect]

55. I think if POT was involved they do . . . that's what made me suspicious . ..

but it's only suspicion - I imagine we have a lot to learn about this story yet --

the article went on 3 pages and this was pretty much at the end of it . . .

Police initially said they had no indication Schuler was impaired while driving, Carey said.

"We did not have people that morning describe Diane Schuler as anything other than to say she was fine," Carey said.

It also doesn't make sense that you'd be in the car talking to your brother saying you're
"disoriented" and then not pull over. Not typical of an alcoholic to call.
Not typical of a concerned mother not to pull over.

????????

[SkyDaddy7]

116. A vested interest?

I always get suspicious when the police come out very quickly with their side of the story when clearly that has not been enough time to check all possible scenarios. I know there will not be a jury to taint with such actions in this case but many times police will go public with info for the purpose of influencing potential jurors.

I would hope the police would not lie about or jump to conclusions about anything but I know better. Maybe this won't be another one of those times.

[NashVegas]

146. Exactly

I think there's a very good chance the brother knew she was drunk and called police. (Who calls police because someone's not feeling well?) And there's an equally good chance they neglected to put out a bulletin and are now CYA.

[bettyellen]

47. u think he'll admit he didn't do evrything to save them? he knew she was impared and DID NADA. sad.

he didn;t call the police when she was impaired "sick" why exactly?

[WriteDown]

54. Oh you were there?

Please fill us in on the details.

[bettyellen]

69. blood alcohol tests don't lie. family of alcoholics? they lie all the fucking time.

it's just how that shit works- the family's statements are completely predictable. their actions totally irrational unless they were used to covering for her binges. you'll soon see.

[defendandprotect]

57. The brother did call the police when she seemed late getting home . . .

something like two hours later --

It's all very odd.

[left coaster]

89. I wonder...

How do we know this is what the woman actually said? Maybe someone is lying, after the fact. Just sayin'.

[bettyellen]

117. exactly- there were four phone calls and the family is not cooperating with investigators at all

it;s CYA time

[FarCenter]

21. Check her credit and debit card records

Maybe she bought the broken bottle of Vodka found at the scene between the campground and the accident.

Why did she call her brother instead of her husband?

Why did she leave her cell phone at the rest area?

[Art_from_Ark]

82. Why did she call her brother instead of her husband?

Possible reasons:

1) She had 3 of her brother's kids in her vehicle
2) Her husband had left for a fishing trip and may not have been reachable by phone.

[MilesColtrane]

140. I think that husband and wife had a fight. (May be why they took separate vehicles.)

She gets upset enough to start drinking. (Perhaps she drove to someone's place immediately after the reunion to vent, have a quick pop/get high.)

This exacerbates her state of mind, making her more upsetl. She stops for a bottle and starts hitting off of it.

Not being a seasoned drinker, she's disoriented, but is still too angry with her husband to call him. So she calls her brother, telling him that she doesn't feel well.

Perhaps not finding the sympathetic ear she had hoped for, she decides to end it, (no reason to hold onto the cell phone now) and starts chugging while driving.

[left coaster]

141. This is what I've been thinking, too..

[LisaL]

155. Supposedly they had a bottle of vodka at the campground.

Then the husband might have packed it into her minivan.

[elleng]

25. Maybe the lab techs were drunk!

(sorry, couldn't resist.)
:-(

[TheCoxwain]

29. if you are drunk and get involved in an accident .. will your insurance pay you?

[valerief]

32. If the answer is no, then the toxicology report is helping the insurance company.

Hmm...

[SWr]

35. and ... what

And your suggesting there is some grand conspiracy between the coroner's office and an insurance company?

Better hit the store and stock up on some more tin foil.

[valerief]

44. See #29, Mr. Name-Caller. nt

[Techn0Girl]

45. A Conspiracy of Lawyers ....

I was once involved in an accident where the other car broke the center line on a 2 way street and sideswiped my car so badly I couldn't get out the door. Then the driver tried to get away...but I ran out of the passenger side door and caught up to her in traffic a block later.

Skid marks showed the driver broke center line.
County prosecutor decides to file against her - they use me as a witness.
Driver pleads guilty.

Ohh... but the judge DISALLOWS her guilty plea saying it would be determental to her in a civil suit and throws the case out of court. WTF !! ?

Instead of justice - I got screwed. because the "judge" (who was actually a lawyer the county paid to be a sit-in judge) did not want to interfere in some lawyers making money.

The system is rigged... from the bottom up and the top down.

Know the ONLY way I (being young and poor at the time) could get money for my totalled vehicle?
The ONLY way?

I had to lie. I went to one of those well known late night TV lawyers who instructed me what to say to the doctors that he provided for me. One month later I got 2000 for my car. Five months later I got another 1500.

The doctor the lawyer provided me with got about 10 grand and the lawyer got another 6 grand. I got about 3 and a half.

It was all a scam. The court would not rule against her which would have given me leverage with her insurance company and the insurance company told me to take a hike until I got the dirty lawyer.

And I needed a car to go to work. And that was that.

It's not a conspiracy.
It's American corporate fascism in operation.

That was Los Angeles , 1988. I suspect things have not changed much

[defendandprotect]

59. Wow . . . I imagine that story is an education for a lot of people here . . .. !!!

[marions ghost]

167. Agreed

things have not changed much:-(

Anyone who things the American justice system works is delusional.

[LisaL]

111. The insurance company can not pay her even if it wanted to.

She is dead.

[sabrina 1]

136. That is not just a possibility, I know it happens.

Because it happened to someone I know. All witnesses said the person, killed in the accident, did not have anything to drink. The police, just like here, initially said to the family and several other witnesses 'this was not an alcohol-related accident'. But four days later the family was shocked to hear that the toxicology report claimed a blood alcohol level of twice the legal limit. The cops, in this case, completely changed their story and refused to release the accident report (which the family had seen but in their shock did not ask for immediately), until three months later. At that point, with the help of an attorney, the family also discovered for the first time, that there was a passenger in the car that was the cause of the accident.

We also found out that a controversial law had been passed, pushed by Insurance companies, that an autopsy is mandatory when an accident occurs on a public road. The family of victims have no say in that.

Nothing would surprise me. In this case, I thought it was odd that just like in the case I'm talking about, the police did not suspect alcohol at first, never mentioned the 'broken bottle' which they must have seen at the scene.

I was told that if blame can be placed on the victims in some way, it will diminish the amount of money insurance companies have to pay out. There probably was an autopsy if the laws in NJ are the same as in NY.

If her family can afford it, they should insist, if it's not too late and they are not too grief-stricken, on an independent autopsy.

Btw, this woman's friends and neighbors say they never saw her drinking or doing drugs. And, that she was such a responsible mother, she would not even allow her children out of their safety restraints is she had groceries in the car, until she had placed the groceries on the porch.

Would her brother, if there was even a chance that she was an alcoholic, first, allow her to drive his kids, and second, not panic after she called him saying she was disoriented?

People lie, and when there's money involved, the chances of them lying are more likely than not. I don't believe this story at least for now. It just makes no sense, just as the other accident I mentioned made no sense.

[LisaL]

110. She is dead. So why on Earth would the insurance company

pay her?

[McCamy Taylor]

33. Whether she drank or not, if the husband does not want to get sued he will

have to say that as far as he knows she did not drink or do drugs. Otherwise, the plaintiff's attorneys will try to go after him, saying that it was his responsibility to keep his wife off the road. It was not. Maybe it was her doctor's responsibility to tell her not to drive. But in the US, wives are not required to do what their husband's tell them.

[bettyellen]

39. exactly - he is saying this only because he HAS to say it. she acted drunk... had a bottle w her..

not hard to believe.

[defendandprotect]

60. Where did she "act drunk" . . . did the surviving son say that was so ???

Passing motorists say she was "in control."

Presumably they were all also honking at her? Did she fall to see all the cars coming

at her. She could have still pulled into the service lane?

Police initially said they had no indication Schuler was impaired while driving, Carey said.

"We did not have people that morning describe Diane Schuler as anything other than to say she was fine," Carey said.

Right now it's anyone's guess on this --

[bettyellen]

72. later reports had her driving like a crazy person- straddling lanes, going on top of dividers, tail-

tailgaiting and honking and weaving across all lanes and supposedly she called saying she was confused and having visions problems- but did not have the sense to stop driving? her brother knew something was terribly wrong-
no good reason for the brother to wait two hours before calling the cops if she was ill. good reason npt to call tem in if she was criminally negligent though.

[WriteDown]

77. She could've had a psychotic break that led to all of this..

Who knows?

[bettyellen]

80. yeah but for the booze in her blood and the bottle point to a sadly common explaination i fear...

a lot eaiser to believe than someone slipped her (10?!? drinks) something or the cops did it.
the cops didn't guess this immediately probably because of the time of day and just how fucking heinous it is to be boozing ith kids in the car. Framed? Please it looks like the cops did;t want to even suspect it was booze.

[defendandprotect]

85. It's strange . . .

I haven't been reading this from the beginning - seemed kinda open and shut.

But now . . . did she commit suicide?

The kids in the car must have been hysterical?

Hard to figure that the brother would not have done something if he was truly

worried -- evidently 3 of his own kids were in the car! ???????

We'll see . . .

[LisaL]

103. What exactly could have the brother done?

From what I've read, he told her to pull over promising to come and get her, he called the police.

[damntexdem]

43. Was it the diabetes or the stroke that put all that alcohol into her blood?

I'm sure medical science would be very interested in knowing. ;-)

[Rebubula]

46. Someone spiked her perhaps?

Let's say that someone spiked a drink and fed her some pot brownies...far fetched, I know but this is a weird story with lots of unknowns.

I find it hard to believe that a mother would drink that much and then drive her children without there being lots of warning signs prior to the event. Of course, I find it hard to believe that anyone would have voted for Bush.

In the end, the only thing matters is that 8 people were killed. The driver is dead and cannot be punished further.

[hedgehog]

65. Could she have actually driven the car if her BAC was 0.19?

0.14 - 0.15 Major impairment of mental and physical control; slurred speech, blurred vision and lack of motor skills; needs medical evaluation.

0.20 Loss of motor control; must have assistance moving about; mental confusion; needs medical assistance.

http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/atod/alc_aayb.htm

.16-.19 BAC: Feelings of euphoria will be completely gone, and depression and sadness will become the dominant feelings as your ability to control your body deteriorates.

.20 BAC: At this point, you will likely need help to stand or walk, and if your sense of pain will be dramatically reduced. At this point, you will likely experience nausea and vomiting, and you run the risk of choking on your own vomit due to your gag reflex being suppressed.

http://www.orchidrecoverycenter.com/alcohol-rehab/alcohol-abuse-effects-different-blood-alcohol-levels.html

.16 - .20


* Confusion
* Dazed
* Needs assistance walking
* Severe intoxication
* Increased severity of all negative effects
* Pass-out zone

http://www.fhsu.edu/kellycenter/dawn/bal.shtml

[WriteDown]

66. There was a girl on TV on Saturday that blew a

.339 and she was completely functional. She was 20 something and you wouldn't have even known she was drinking. The cop couldn't believe it and she was darn proud.

[ingac70]

83. Sad, such a hard core lush at 20.

Her liver will be shot before she sees 30.

[hedgehog]

67. She stopped to eat at a McDonald's shortly before she was

first seen driving erratically. One article indicates she was behaving normally at the McDonald's and that surveillance tapes there are being checked.

So,

did someone spike her food at the restaurant?

did she miscalculate her insulin dose?

Was there something wrong with her insulin?

[JeanGrey]

68. Oh please. Spare me. I am waiting

for someone to say "the cops did it" in one, two~!

[SWr]

71. nah ....

See post #32 ... according to some in here its actually the coroner and the lab that ran the tox. They're all part of the conspiracy (x-files)

:popcorn:

[JeanGrey]

73. Ah yes, I see. I should have read the

thread first, I guess. (sigh)

[jumptheshadow]

75. An old story comes back to me...

Many years ago a reporter friend wrote a front-page story about a baby who had died of alcohol intoxication.

Additional tests were done, and it turned out that the kid had a rare condition where sugar, I think it was, metabolized into alcohol.

My friend received a call at home from the distraught parents, who were grief-stricken, shamed and angry.

I don't know what happened in this case, and will reserve judgment until all the tests are done, but the husband's protest reminded me that there have indeed been situations where preliminary tests turned out to be misleading after more complex investigation was done.

[LisaL]

104. Sugar turning into alcohol wouldn't explain a broken bottle of vodka

.

[KayLaw]

122. I just read one report about that.

From what I could tell the bottle was found long after the crash and only at the site. it didn't necessarily come from her car.

[LisaL]

128. And from what I've read it was found on the floor of the car.

"A shattered bottle of Absolut Vodka was discovered Friday on the passenger-side floor by crash reconstruction investigators."

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20090806/NEWS05/908060331

[KayLaw]

130. Here's this from today . . .

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/diane-schuler-defended-on-today-show-1.1354626

[LisaL]

132. This is from your link:

"The investigator, Thomas Ruskin, told host Meredith Vieira that the family was "known to carry the same bottle of vodka for the entire season" of camping.

Ruskin said it was possible Daniel Schuler, who liked to have an occasional drink of vodka, placed the bottle into the minivan when he packed it with camping equipment the morning of the fatal crash."
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/diane-schuler-defended-on-today-show-1.1354626
To me, it doesn't sound like an unrelated bottle was found on the scene. And the lady is said to have liked an "occasional drink of vodka."

[KayLaw]

138. There was more about the bottle in the article.

However, that would explain the bottle's presence. I find it hard ( but not impossible ) to believe the lab got the results so wrong( I read Actual Innocence ). But I also find it hard ( but not impossible ) to believe this woman would suddenly make such a horrific choice. She only had to make a 90-mile drive and then could have a drink in her own home. If there was a pattern of this sort of behavior I wouldn't even be posting on this thread.

[LisaL]

153. Yea well there was a bottle of vodka found at the scene,

the husband might have put that bottle in the van, and her blood alcohol level was reported twice the legal limit.
And an abscess or a lump on her leg is supposed to be a better explanation for why she drove the wrong way?

[Generator]

81. You know what this means then

only one thing, ROVE.

[Cha]

84. It's too weird.."a broken blttle of vodka was found at the crash scene"

"Investigators could not determine if Schuler had been drinking while she was driving, but alcohol was in her stomach at the time of the autopsy and a broken bottle of vodka was found at the crash scene, New York State Police Major William Carey said at a press conference earlier this week.

It was not clear exactly how much or when Schuler smoked marijuana; the toxicology reported "high" levels of THC, the active ingredient in pot, Westchester director of toxicology Betsy Spratt said.

But "there were approximately 10 drinks still in her," Spratt said, that had yet to be metabolized."

[LisaL]

154. Why is it weird?

The husband might have packed that bottle of vodka into her car himself, apparently. Because he likes an occasional drink of vodka and they had that bottle with them at the camp.

[Jennicut]

96. I am a type 2 diabetic, drinking more then 3 mixed drinks makes my blood sugar dip low

So she could drink and be drunk and her blood sugar could be low at the same time, making it even worse. When your blood sugar is low you can shake, be dizzy, disoriented and pass out for a few seconds and the wake up again. However, she could have also skipped her insulin shots or medication and her blood sugar could be high and then she drank so her blood sugar was fine. We may never know.
A toxicology report will tell all and if there is alcohol in the blood stream then she was obviously drunk. Wonder if there was insulin or Metformin (or another diabetic drug) in her system as well.

[Tim01]

98. Does she have a history of being dangerous with alcohol. nt

[Tx4obama]

105. Probably an error at the lab made by a newbie. n/t

[LisaL]

106. Oh for crying out loud.

Are you seriously suggesting they let a person who knows nothing to investigate a case such as this?

"The Westchester medical examiner, Dr. Millard J. Hyland, said on Thursday that he stood by the autopsy, adding that his forensic pathologists and toxicology experts had dropped other cases to devote their attention to it. The office ruled out stroke, heart attack, an aneurysm and diabetic issues. And while tests on Ms. Schuler’s eyeball fluid for elevated blood sugar might have pointed to diabetic shock, as the police initially speculated, the fluid contained alcohol, he said."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/nyregion/07crash.html?hp

[FlaGranny]

159. I once saw a show

on the Health Channel about a person who acted drunk and was accused of drinking and the person swore he did not drink. Further investigation found he had some kind of rare disease. For the life of me, I can't remember what that disease was, but some chemical that was produced in the body was turning sugars into alcohol.

[mainer]

118. Another explanation: temporal lobe seizure?

Let's take the husband at his word -- after all, no one in the family suspected she had a problem. What would make a woman suddenly chug a fatal amount of vodka?

Temporal lobe seizures can make people do any number of quite complex behaviors, from driving a car to wandering a city. It could make her ingest a a stomach full of vodka, too. Then when she came out of it, she didn't know why she was feeling ill because she didn't remember drinking the alcohol -- which is when she called her husband.

[LisaL]

127. How did she get this vodka?

You are suggesting that someone might just drink without being aware of it, but that alcohol would have to come from somewhere.

[KayLaw]

123. How long was the drive she had to make?

She started the drive at 9:30 and seemed sober to those around her. She stopped at McDonalds and again appeared sober. The crash happened at 1:30. So she decided to get wasted just before getting the kids home? Is that the claim?

[KayLaw]

131. I found out.

90 miles.

[JonQ]

133. I'm going to assume he's just an grieving husband

Who doesn't want to believe his wife was responsible for 8 deaths.

I don't think there is a right way to deal with this situation. You can't really expect him to denounce his recently deceased wife. Nor would you expect him to make light of the deaths she caused. So the only alternative in his mind is likely that it wasn't her fault.

[IDemo]

161. There is one possibility for a false high blood alcohol measurement

And I'm not claiming this is the case, but it could provide an explanation:

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2000-06/961007618.Bc.r.html

If a diabetic does
not take enough insulin, the cells won't be able to use the blood glucose,
and the body will start breaking down other materials for energy (namely,
fats). When fats are broken down for energy, waste products called
ketones (also known as ketoacids or ketone bodies) are produced. These
ketones can cross-react with both the breath and blood alcohol tests.
Therefore, a diabetic who is making ketones may have a positive result,
even if he or she hasn't had anything to drink.

But the problem for diabetics doesn't end there. A diabetic who is
producing LOTS of ketones (again, as a result of not taking enough
insulin) will have a peculiar odor on their breath from the ketones - an
odor which might be mistaken for alcohol. And even worse, having lots of
ketones in the blood can make the blood acidic, which will make the person
feel sick, dizzy and confused - and this might be mistaken for drunkedness!

She may have simply missed a shot and/or had poor blood sugar control. But that would still not explain the presence of THC.

[KayLaw]

162. I hope it's something like this.

As for the THC, maybe from the night before?

[TorchTheWitch]

166. there was undigested alcohol in her stomach as well

She was drunk. For some reason, she was drinking heavily and smoked pot on the drive as well. A broken vodka bottle was found on the floor of the vehicle under the passenger seat. Hubby admits they routinely brought a bottle of vodka on their camping trips. I can't for the life of me imagine why people are having such a hard time believing the overwhelming evidence that she was drunk. We don't know why this was the case, but the autopsy and toxicology reports make it as plain as day that she was drunk. Her family, for whatever reason, is in denial or for whatever reason are deliberately lying. SHE WAS DRUNK.

[LisaL]

168. The hubby also said he likes an occasional drink of vodka.

According to the New York Post, he had his own DWI, albeit years ago.

"Daniel Schuler last week tearfully defended his wife Diane against toxicology results that showed she was sloshed and stoned when she crashed her minivan, killing herself and seven others. But he was once arrested for DWI, according to court records.

He was busted by Nassau County police on Oct. 14, 1995, while driving his white 1991 Plymouth from one bar to another 30 minutes away, a police report said."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08092009/news/regionalnews/taconic_crash_moms_husband_has_own_dwi_183718.htm

[TorchTheWitch]

172. i think hubby's claims about the vodka bottle

is his explanation for why one was found in the car. He HAS to supply some explaination for it in order to claim that there is no way she was drunk. The more this guy talks the more it appears that he knew she had a drinking problem and this isn't just denial. Everything about his behavior suggests he's covering his own personal ass. CPS is looking into whether or not he should retain custody of his last remaining child, so that alone gives him every reason to lie.

I find it suspicious that he has still not spoken with police citing his state of grief and needing to be with his son who is still in the hospital, but he still has time to hire a big shot attorney, have conferences with that attorney and hold a press conference... but no time for the police. At first I really thought that he either had no idea she had a drinking problem or that this was a first time drinking binge episode with her, but the more this goes on the more it appears that he is hiding something.

[IDemo]

170. I hadn't seen that (alcohol found in her stomach)

It sounds like ketoacidosis was definitely not behind this one.

[Darth_Kitten]

163. Everybody always stands up for the alcoholics and drug addicts..

Always.....sickening....

[defendandprotect]

165. I'm not standing up for an "alcoholic" nor a "drug addict" . . .

what I think most of us are saying is that it's a confusing story and
don't know if we have all the pieces to the puzzle.

No one wants alcoholics on the road --

Nor anyone under influence of drugs --

We all do want justice, however -- and sometimes that takes a bit more time.