Diane Schuler

Diane E. Hance Schuler (November 13, 1972 - July 26, 2009) was a West Babylon, New York resident who caused a fatal traffic collision on the Taconic State Parkway on July 26, 2009. Eight people died in the collision, including Schuler, Schuler's daughter and three nieces, and three men in another car. The accident was considered the worst road accident in Westchester County in 75 years.
Background on Diane Schuler
Schuler was born in Floral Park, New York and attended Floral Park Memorial High School and Nassau Community College. She was married to Daniel Schuler, an officer in the Public Security Unit of the Nassau County Police Department. They had one son, Bryan, age 5 at the time of the 2009 crash, and one daughter, Erin, age 2. Schuler worked as the director of billing and credit card collections at Cablevision Systems in Bethpage, New York.
Timeline of crash
At approximately 9:30 AM, Diane Schuler left the Hunter Lake Campground in Parksville, New York with her two children and her brother's daughters, 8-year-old Emma Hance, 7-year-old Alyson Hance, and 5-year-old Kate Hance. Diane was driving the children in a red 2003 Ford Windstar and planned to stop at McDonald's on the way home to West Babylon. Her husband Daniel Schuler left the campground at the same time in a separate vehicle; because his vehicle had commercial license plates, he could not follow Diane home on any New York state parkway.
She stopped at a McDonald's restaurant located off Route 17 in Liberty, New York, and pumped gas at a nearby Sunoco . While at the gas station, she tried to buy OTC pain-relief medication, but the store did not sell any.
Schuler left Liberty, New York just after 11am travelling along Route 17 and Interstate 87, entering the Ramapo service area , and crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge heading east.
At 12:08 PM, Schuler's cell phone received a call from a person who has not been identified.
At 12:58 PM, another call was made to Hance from Schuler's cell phone. During the call, Emma Hance reportedly told her father that Schuler was having trouble seeing and speaking clearly. The call was dropped after three minutes, after which Hance called back and stayed on the line for nine minutes. Hance reportedly told Schuler to stay off the road while he came to meet them; follow-up calls from Hance to Schuler were not answered. A motorist later found Schuler's cell phone by the side of the road near the toll lanes of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
The exact route Diane Schuler took from the Tappan Zee Bridge to the Taconic State Parkway exit at Briarcliff Manor has not yet been identified by police.
At 1:33pm, two drivers called 911 after noticing Schuler's van edging onto the northbound exit ramp of the Taconic State Parkway near Briarcliff Manor, NY. The end of the exit ramp, at the intersection with Pleasantville Road , is marked with two signs reading ' and two ' signs. The exit ramp itself is unmarked. Within the next minute, four more 911 calls were placed by motorists who reported a car travelling the wrong way down the parkway.
Schuler's van traveled south for 1.7 miles in the parkway's northbound passing lane before colliding head-on, at approximately 1:37 PM, with a 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer killing its driver Guy Bastardi, 49, of Yonkers, and his two passengers; his father Michael Bastardi, 81, and friend Daniel Longo, 74. In a secondary collision, the Trailblazer struck a 2002 Chevrolet Tracker; its passengers Dean and Angela Tallarico suffered minor injuries. Alyson was taken to Phelps Memorial Hospital Center, where she was pronounced dead later that day. Bryan was taken to Westchester Medical Center and survived his injuries.
Investigation
An autopsy of Diane Schuler, conducted by Westchester County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Millard Hyland, ruled out heart attack, stroke, and aneurysm. The toxicology report conducted by the county's chief toxicologist Betsy Spratt found Schuler had a 0.19% blood alcohol content (BAC), 6 grams of undigested alcohol in her stomach, and 113 nanograms/ml of THC in her system. A broken bottle of vodka was also found in her minivan.
Daniel Schuler has disputed the medical examiner's findings and has sought an independent autopsy to pursue his original claim that his wife suffered an illness. Schuler has claimed that his wife was not a habitual drinker or a drug user. On August 7, 2009, Suffolk County Child Protective Services began a formal investigation into Daniel Schuler's possible knowledge of Diane Schuler's drinking and marijuana use. On August 14, 2009, Daniel Schuler met with state police and told them that his wife drank socially, and occasionally smoked pot. Daniel Schuler's position with the Nassau Police Department did not obligate him to report marijuana use by his spouse, because he is a civilian employee.
Her husband asserts that autopsy results prove Schuler was not an alcoholic, despite the coroner's toxicology report indicating the presence of alcohol and marijuana in her system at the time of death.

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