Hello and thank you for being a DL contributor. I just assumed anecdotally that it was pretty rare. Why does it seem the brother is covering up for Diane? This contrasts with the aftermath of her actions. R39, I just saw the documentary. For example, when her husband's mother freely admits that Diane's husband acted more like her "oldest child" than a husband; when Jay lets it slip that the Diane's husband didn't really want to have kids and that he resents having to be a single parent now; when Diane's friends talk about her perfectionism; and when her own mother in law admits she doesn't understand how Diane found the time to work full time and take care of the children and household chores (because your son--Diane's husband--was useless, duh). He didnt realize it until the police told him. He even admits he never wanted kids and is now stuck with the guy. There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane. What is Daniel Schuler up to these days and his closet-smoker sister in law? On July 26, 2011, the day after the premiere of HBO's documentary on the subject, There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane, and on the second anniversary of the crash, Daniel Schuler announced that he is suing the State of New York for not keeping the road safe and his brother-in-law Warren Hance for being the owner of the minivan. Not all alcoholics develop liver damage (and those who do usually develop it between 40-50), so the lack of liver disease in her autopsy doesnt tell us much. Four hours later, she drove the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway for nearly two miles eventually crashing into an oncoming SUV, killing herself and seven others. The film, however, raised more questions than it answered. Family members often are. Maybe she also doesn't know where her husband is and wants to get home to see if he's there. I know everyone is suing everyone, the Hances had a baby and there were two books written by family members of those killed. I don't live in the US so don't recall much media coverage of this case. Nine days after her deadly crash, Diane's toxicology report revealed she had a blood-alcohol content of . Was she a habitual drinker, and if so, did her husband and other family members know? We do know that Diane got into an argument with the counterboy at McDonalds because her son wanted Chicken McNuggets and they were only serving breakfast but that's who Diane was, wanted to make sure the children all got what they want. And that poor little boy Bryan, the only survivor of the crash; I wonder how he's doing, and if he's fully recovered from his injuries. 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Michelle Carter, The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News, Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union, A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=There%27s_Something_Wrong_with_Aunt_Diane&oldid=1141220529, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 23:57. Since this aired I have read comments saying that it could have been that Diane blacked out after taking Ambien. I can see her being irritable, having a headache, wishing she could drink,, maybe having a few sips of vodka with OJ to "take the edge off".but get black out drunk in that setting?! This thread has definitely made me realize this. She was supposedly texting and the police ruled out the kids as being a distraction. I do not get why she stayed with that asshole husband of hers. Because it would reveal far too much, R27. Please click here to get full access and no ads for $1.99 or less per month. Five years after a violent wrong-way collision on the Taconic State Parkway killed eight people including four young children a flurry of civil lawsuits stemming from the crash have been dropped or quietly settled, with the terms sealed by a state judge. No fucking mystery, she was completely impaired, sick from too my alcohol and angry. I think R21 has it. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000281.htm. I'm not saying that is the answer, or that I'm remembering 100% correctly, but after reading those first-hand accounts, I was convinced it could have played a role in her behavior. Its unclear why Schuler did not call her husband, Daniel, who was supposed to be driving home in his truck at the same time Diane took the kids. The Bastardi and Longo families pushed for prosecutors to convene a grand jury, but it never happened. All rights reserved. Its a gripping and terrifying account, making use of video footage, cellphone conversations and testimony from investigators and a number of witnesses. The film follows Dianes husband and sister-in-law, who have been trying to clear Dianes name ever since her death. Thats pretty damning. Eight-year-old Emma Hance, Schulers eldest niece, called her father from the vehicle approximately a half hour prior to the fatal crash, saying: Daddy, there is something wrong with Aunt Diane.. It would make more sense if she had wanted to end it all and take the children with her to have them unsecured at that point. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. There was an issue submitting your request. He's currently serving a prison sentence if I remember right. The whole documentary just fascinates me. This is a family who is trying desperately (almost to the point of irrationality) to preserve her imageOR, more likely, to deflect any potential legal or financial responsibility from themselves. On one hand, why was Ms. Schuler driving with marijuana and the equivalent of 10 shots of alcohol in her body, as tests later showed? The HBO documentary There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane tracked Daniel's journey to clear his wife's name. After her mom left, I think Diane was molested by one of her brothers or fathers. She's really tired from partying all weekend without sleep, thus the iced coffee. On that bright sunny Sunday 10 years ago, July 26, 2009, families were shattered. If we accept the case that she is an alcoholic (I think the alcoholism is moot at this point), then you're trying to tell me that a seasoned alcoholic who has presumably been drinking heavily for years, gets this messed up after some vodka and weed? Pursuing Answers, Two Years After a Tragic Collision, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/arts/television/theres-something-wrong-with-aunt-diane-on-hbo-review.html. But yeah. She was angry at her husband for being such a useless loser. [quote]That's just another lame, totally unproven excuse for Shuler's behavior. She said something about it during the call to her brother. This case has also fascinated me for years. "The terms of the settlement are confidential and the court records are sealed," attorney Kevin Grennan, of Garden City, said Wednesday. Essentially, some people said they could buy that the weed + booze = her being so out of her mind disoriented the crash was an "accident" (in quotes there cuz obviously she could have abstained from both and voila, no accident at all). The collision killed Schuler, her 2-year-old daughter and her three nieces Emma Hance, 8; Alyson Hance, 7; and Katie Hance, 5. Thats my theory as to why the brother wont talk about their conversation. This is apparently why she took the girls with her. Stay up-to-date on all the latest Rotten Tomatoes news! Just as eyewitnesses reported Schuler seemed to have her faculties at the time of the crash, two witnesses from the campgrounds later maintained there was nothing out of the ordinary when Schuler and the family left. Guy Bastardi, his father Michael Bastardi, and family friend Daniel Longo, were in the car that crashed head-on into Dianes vehicle and died shortly after. Have you had it tested? The filmmakers were able to obtain medical records that had eluded them and helped them to get answers from a private investigator they had hired. Reportedly, she had her hands firmly on the steering wheel at "ten and two" while she stared straight ahead. There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane TV Movie 2011 TV-MA 1 h 41 m IMDb RATING 6.7 /10 5.8K YOUR RATING Rate Play trailer 0:47 1 Video 6 Photos Documentary Crime This documentary explores the depth behind the case of a woman whose vehicle collision killed numerous people, including herself. It did show a blood alcohol level of 0.19 and high levels of thc from smoking weed up to 15 minutes before she died. I don't think they were trying to find a way to medically excuse, but I do think they were sympathetic to Diane. Very good post R40; the story fascinated me too - because it starts out as coverage of this terrible accident in which the circumstance seem so inconsistent with the person everyone thought they knew, but as the story unfolds, you get insight into what happened with this woman and how the people that think they knew her (like her sister in law) really had no clue. I want to clear her name, he said. This always seemed to me like murder-suicide; why she just didn't let the nieces out, hand them her phone and say "call your dad to come get you", who knows, but given how long she meandered around before getting on the Taconic and eyewitness testimony that she drove bullet-straight once she started driving the wrong way while people were blowing the horn at her always seemed like to me that at some point on that drive home she decided to kill herself and the kids. Much of the material Ms. Garbus presents has been on the record already, most prominently in an article by Steve Fishman in New York magazine in November 2009. I don't think it's uncommon. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. "There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane" premieres on HBO at Monday 9 p.m. WATCH VIDEO: The trailer for "There's something wrong with Aunt Diane"," which is available on. Authorities want to figure out if Schuler, who denied that his wife even liked the taste of alcohol, is a danger to his son. The July 26, 2009, crash was one of Westchester County's most horrific. But she packages it well in a film thats like a more meticulous and dignified version of one of those network television prime-time crime compendiums a 48 Hours Mystery with more heart and brain. By creating an account, you agree to the The movie offers a few plausible explanations as . I take it to sleep and I haven't done anything crazy. She was high on marijuana and had the equivalent of 10 shots of booze in her stomach.. When Emma made that final call to her father, she also said how her aunt was having trouble seeing and talking funny [] slurring. Investigators later recovered a vodka bottle from the TrailBlazer. It speaks to a family of people for whom rigid, absolute denial of an obvious fact is the go-to in terms of dealing with something extremely traumatic. Do you think we mischaracterized a critic's review. The July 26, 2009, crash was one of Westchester County's most horrific. Available on iTunes, HBO Max. I work in an ER and the regular daily drinkers are walking and talking to me in the 200 and 300s.. even the 400s. Yet Schuler offered himself up, grim-faced, to the press, insisting his wife had an occasional glass of wine and tossed the rest of the bottle away. The accident made national headlines: a suburban mother drove the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway in New York and crashed head-on into an SUV, killing herself and seven others. It's heart breaking that the witnesses that saw her getting sick - throwing up did not walk over to see if she needed assistance. I'm skeptical as a result of her BAC, the control of the car she seemed to be demonstrating while on the highway, her actions leading up the crash that morning (i.e., everyone who ran into her made it seem like she was sober), the time of day (i.e., broad daylight with tons of oncoming traffic), and the fact that she had 6 children in the car screaming in terror and pleading for her to stop. Also: none of the kids were in car seats or had seat belts on and all of them were just crammed next to each other on the seats in the backseat. It was in her blood and there was still 6 (was it ounces or quarts?) Daniel Schuler and his in-laws, Warren and Jackie Hance, later sued each other over the crash. I would like to remain anonymous. I'll add a key piece of evidence - her BAC of 0.19. She was pissed and angry, and wanted to ease her tension by drinking and smoking pot. The autopsy showed no.traces of Ambien in her system. God will deal with the rest. Investigators said Diane Schuler drove against traffic and struck Bastardi's car. of undigested alcohol still in her stomach (even after pulling over to vomit twice)so we know she did it. She's concentrating on just driving straight and staying in one lane. You may get nauseous. Little crosses and flowers are in the medians where the two cars ended up. They stalked and harassed her for months leading up to it. I think it really revealed the depths of the family's state of denial, and what lengths her husband and sister-in-law were willing go to "prove" that it was a medical issue, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Any history of mental illness? She stops at the Sunoco convenience store for some Aspirin and perhaps another nip and toke. He was not worth putting up with. You don't have enough exposure. "July 25, 2011: HBO releases "There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane," with the cooperation of Daniel Schuler and his sister-in-law Jay. Verified Audience. Here is a link to a pretty decent article written on the 10th anniversary of the crash that has a really detailed/comprehensive timeline of the whole day and even shows the exact place that Diane left the phone on the side of the road after a wrong number had been dialed three times. IN THE minutes before Diane Schuler drunkenly smashed her vehicle while traveling in the wrong direction on the Taconic Parkway murdering seven innocents and herself her little niece cried, terrified, into a cellphone to her dad: Theres something wrong with Aunt Diane!. Directed by Liz Garbus; produced by Ms. Garbus and Julie Gaither; edited by M. Watanabe Milmore; director of photography, Michael Tucker; music by Jonathan Zalban. The HBO documentary There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane tracked Daniel's journey to clear his wife's name. (although obvs. There are signs, EVERYONE IGNORED THESE SIGNS? Also: the alleged drinking buddy in the article says that Dianes favorite drink was a screwdriver and that she had a super high tolerance foryou guessed it.vodka! All in all, I find this case fascinating but so frustrating because we will never actually know for sure. ", I agree that she was drunk and high, btw. Maybe her husband told her he wanted a divorce or that he never wanted kids. Tomatometer 1 Reviews. Bastardi and several attorneys associated with the court cases declined to discuss the cases Wednesday. I mean, ALL of that made sense! The story of Diane Schuler and the horrifying collision she caused is a series of mysteries that probably can't be solved but that could, from some angles, be seen as fairly easy . Her husband: deny deny deny. We are still being dodged by all the questions that we wanted answered.". I would side with you that it was murder/suicide. Does anyone else see it that way? Evidence is mounting that someone had to have known Diane was a danger. Otherwise, you'll just have to find some other site Interesting. I can't imagine anything more awful than being a kid in that van. (If you are a man, you will have difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection.) Before this call, Schuler made three, increasingly frantic calls from her cell not the one, calm conversation thats been previously reported. I'd assume she had a routine down in her regular life to control her drinking/addictions and this trip likely off set that. This documentary explores the depth behind the case of a woman whose vehicle collision killed numerous people, including herself. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Do I need to lecture you on how fucking stupid you are being? Of course anything is possible in a drunken blackout, but the question is why a closet alcoholic would drink herself into a drunken blackout with those kids in the car when she'd be home so soon & her family was expecting her. How many people went with the 'she was drunk and it was an accident' narrative vs 'she knew what she was doing, the drink was help, not cause/murder-suicide' narrative? Ah, thanks, R73. TOP CRITIC. Maybe Lawn Guyland Danny can check in here and tell us the answers to all these questions She's still dead r55. Eight people were killed in the fatal accident. Shes my little girl. it could have happened) but this is quite near to the psychological make-up of someone who might be prone to snapping like this. Diane, who was the subject of both the HBO documentary There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane, and a 2009 episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show, was behind the wheel of her brother's minivan when she crashed headfirst into another car in July 2009. Many theories abound as to whether Schuler deliberately caused the crash that killed her family members. Other excuses for her: she was having a stroke, she was having a seizure, she had diabetes, she had a tooth abscess, she had a cyst on her leg that may be induced a blood clot. Tropical Smoothie Cafe or Smoothie King: Which smoothie chain reigns superior? Nine days after her deadly crash, Dianes toxicology report revealed she had a blood-alcohol content of .19% the equivalent of ten drinks and more than twice the legal limit as well as a high blood level of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. R76, I agree with you. "I'm really honestly just disgusted the way this whole thing went. God rest her soul. He suggested an abscessed tooth may have caused a stroke. This seems highly unlikely to me. It is also possible to buy "There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane" on Apple iTunes as download or rent it on Apple iTunes online. The link at R11 was so poorly written it was unreadable. Shes gone, he said, choking up. She didn't feel like dealing with 5 little kids and wasn't looking forward to the boring 2 hour ride home. I completely agree. The debate of the go-to bagel spot in Rockville is storied and complicated. At least his sleazy lawyer's been disbarred and pretty much lost everything. Bastardis daughters, Roseanne Guzzo and Margaret Nicotina, say they have forgiven Diane but find it harder to forgive Daniel and Jay, who seem to them to be in denial about Dianes accountability. To be fair - all alcoholics/addicts are functional until the day they're not. She drove against traffic for roughly 1.7 miles at speeds reportedly as high as 85 miles per hour. It's not just Jane Fonda feeling bummed out watching 'The Vietnam War.'. To me, this is all pretty cut and dry - she had been unhappy/depressed in her life for quite some time - raising kids with a deadbeat husband after having her own mother walk out at an early age. I haven't heard anything about this case in a long time. Watchlist. 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