The 2009 Taconic State Parkway crash was a traffic collision that occurred shortly after on July 26, 2009, on the Taconic State Parkway in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York, United States. A minivan, being driven by 36-year-old Diane Schuler, traveled in the wrong direction on the parkway and collided head-on with an oncoming SUV. Eight people were killed: Schuler, her daughter and three nieces, and the three occupants in the SUV. The crash was the worst fatal motor vehicle crash to occur in Westchester County since July 22, 1934, when a bus crash in Ossining claimed twenty lives.Ali, A., "4 Kids, 4 Adults Die on Taconic," The Journal News (Lower Hudson), July 26, 2009.
The ensuing investigation into the crash's cause received nationwide media attention. Toxicology tests conducted by the medical examiner revealed that Schuler was heavily intoxicated with both alcohol and marijuana at the time of the crash. Her husband, Daniel Schuler, consistently denied that she used drugs or alcohol "excessively" and made multiple national media appearances to defend his late wife and call for further investigation into other possible medical causes for her erratic driving. An independent investigator hired by the Schuler family obtained DNA testing and toxicology re-testing of Schuler's samples, and confirmed the results of the original testing.
Day of the incident
At approximately on Sunday, July 26, 2009, 36-year-old Diane Schuler left the Hunter Lake Campground in Parksville, New York, located in the Catskill Mountains, where the family kept their camping trailer. She was driving a red 2003 Ford Windstar, borrowed from her brother, Warren Hance. Also in the minivan with Schuler were her 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter, and her brother's three daughters, ages 8, 7, and 5. Her husband, Daniel Schuler, left the campground at the same time in a pickup truck and took the family dog with him."Crash Mom Was Fully 'Loaded'", New York Post, August 5, 2009.NY Police: Woman Was OK at Restaurant Before Crash , WCBS, Aug 7, 2009.Fitz-Gibbon J, Bandler J., "A Week after the Crash, Questions Remain," The Journal News (Lower Hudson), August 3, 2009. A co-owner of the campground later reported that Diane appeared sober when she departed.Gendar, A., Chapman, B., Goldsmith, S.,Driver in deadly Taconic crash Diane Schuler was drunk, had marijuana in system, New York Daily News, August 4, 2009."Taconic-Crash Mom Drunk, High, Tests Reveal ," Times Herald-Record, August 5, 2009.
On the way back to their home in West Babylon, on Long Island, Schuler stopped at a McDonald's restaurant and a Sunoco gas station in Liberty. Surveillance video lacking audio, recorded at the gas station, shows Schuler arriving at and leaving, and going inside the station's convenience store. Schuler’s husband, sister-in-law, and an investigator working on their behalf all made claims and/or inferences that Schuler had spoken to the clerk while attempting to buy over-the-counter pain-relief medication, although the gas station did not sell the one she wanted.
Schuler left Liberty just after , traveling along Route 17/Interstate 86 and the New York Thruway (Interstate 87), entering the Ramapo-Sloatsburg service area, and crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge heading east. Several witnesses later reported seeing a red minivan driving aggressively on Route 17/Interstate 86 and Interstate 87, including aggressively tailgating, flashing headlights, honking the horn, moving in and out of lanes, and straddling two lanes. At , Schuler called her brother from her minivan, reportedly telling him that they were being delayed by traffic.Baker, A., and Kovaleski, S., "Alcohol and Phone-Call Details in Wrong-Way Crash," The New York Times, August 8, 2009. According to a police report, Schuler was seen by witnesses at approximately by the side of the road with her hands on her knees, as if vomiting; she was seen again in the same position a short time later, north of the Ramapo-Sloatsburg rest stop.Crowley, Kieran. "Taconic ma twice car sick." New York Post, 2009-11-09.
At about , a call was made to Jackie Hance from Schuler's cell phone. During this call, Emma, Jackie's 8 year old daughter, told her mother that "something is wrong with Aunt Diane". Emma was crying, as well as her 7 year old sister, Alyson. Emma gave the phone to Diane, who told Jackie the girls were playing and being silly. Diane was slurring her words and incoherent. The call ended after 2.5 minutes. Warren Hance then called Schuler's phone and she told him she wasn't feeling well, she was disoriented and was having trouble seeing. Hance then spoke with Emma, and told her to read him any signs she could see. He then told Schuler to stay right there and he'd come get them.I'll See You Again by Jackie Hance Police believe that the car was stopped in a pull-off area beyond the Tappan Zee Bridge tollbooths for at least part of this call. 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. At this point, she left her cell phone along the highway; it was found by another motorist by the side of the road near the tollbooths.Cohen S, and Bandler J, "Driver Spoke on Phone with Brother 25 Minutes Before Fatal Crash ," The Journal News (Lower Hudson), July 30, 2009.Baker, A., "Investigators Reconstruct a Route That Led to 8 Deaths," The New York Times, August 2, 2009.
Investigators did not determine what route Schuler took from the bridge to the Taconic State Parkway ramps near Briarcliff Manor. At , two drivers called 9-1-1 after noticing her van edging onto the parkway's northbound exit ramp. The end of the exit ramp, at the intersection with Pleasantville Road, is marked with two signs that read "Do Not Enter" and two signs that read "Wrong Way".Foderado, L.W., Schweber, N.,"Bad Omens, a Fateful Turn, and 8 Lives Lost," The New York Times, July 28, 2009.Marchant, R., "Wrong-way Turn onto Taconic Puzzles Many ," The Journal News (Lower Hudson), July 28, 2009 (Video). Within the next minute, four more 9-1-1 calls were placed by motorists who reported that a car was traveling the wrong way down the parkway, going approximately .
Schuler's minivan traveled south for in the parkway's northbound passing lane before colliding head-on, at approximately , with a 2004 Chevrolet TrailBlazer, which then struck a 2002 Chevrolet Tracker. At the time of impact, Schuler was traveling approximately .
Two men who witnessed the crash and saw smoke rising out of the minivan ran to assist the occupants. After removing Schuler from the vehicle, the two men saw a large, broken Absolut Vodka bottle by the driver's side. The men tried to pull the girls out of the minivan and noted that they had no pulse.
Victims Diane Schuler, her daughter Erin, and two of her nieces, Emma and Alyson Hance, died at the scene of the crash, along with the three men in the TrailBlazer: 81-year-old Michael Bastardi, his 49-year-old son Guy, and their friend, 74-year-old Dan Longo. The two occupants of the Tracker suffered only minor injuries. Schuler's severely injured 5-year-old niece Katie and her 5-year-old son Bryan were taken to area hospitals, where Katie died later that day.Gorman, S., "Child's Helpless Eyes Haunt Ossining Firefighter ," The Journal News (Lower Hudson), August 10, 2009. Bryan was the only passenger of Schuler's vehicle to survive, suffering from broken bones and severe head trauma. He remained hospitalized for several weeks before returning home in early October.
Intoxication levels A toxicology report released on August 4 by Westchester County medical examiners found that Schuler had a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of 0.19%, with approximately six grams of alcohol in her stomach that had not yet been absorbed into her blood.Ferran, Lee. "Diane Schuler, Wrong-Way Highway Driver Who Killed 8, Had 10 Drinks, Was High." ABC News, 2009-08-04. Accessed 2009-09-16. Archived 2009-09-18.Welch, William M. "All Reported Normal Before Woman's Fatal Wrong-Way Drive." USA Today, 2009-08-13.Fitz-Gibbon, Jorge and Shawn Cohen. "Husband: Wrong-way Driver Didn't Drink." USA Today, 2009-08-06. The legal BAC limit for driving while intoxicated in New York is 0.08%. The report also said that Schuler had high levels of THC, the primary psychoactive active ingredient in cannabis, in her system.Amon, Michael. "ME: Schuler retests will show lower alcohol content." Newsday, 2009-09-08.
The incident drew nationwide attention as Schuler's husband, Daniel, strongly disagreed with the conclusion that she was heavily intoxicated at the time of the crash. In an August 8 press conference, Daniel and his attorney, Dominic Barbara, initially denied, given that several children had been with them, that Diane had taken any illegal drugs or was drinking that weekend at the campground. Daniel then changed his story, and consistently denied that his wife ever "drank to excess" or could have been drunk while driving at the time of the collision."Wrong-Way Crash: "Diane Would Not Do This." CBS News, 2009-08-07.Ali, Aman. "Victims' Families Express Revulsion at Schuler's TV Appearance." The Journal News (Lower Hudson), 2009-09-03. Accessed 2009-09-16. Archived 2009-09-18. When Larry King and Oprah Winfrey asked Daniel about the vodka bottle discovered in the minivan, he claimed that the couple always kept an "old" bottle in their camper. He further stated that Diane did all the packing for the camping trip and must have moved the bottle into the van.
Daniel eventually admitted that he and his wife had, in fact, consumed alcohol during the camping trip; he denied that Diane had had anything to drink on the day preceding the crash.Millman, Jennifer. "Taconic Mom Drank But Was No Drunk: Hubby Changes Story." NBC New York, 2009-11-07.O'Connor, Anahad and Schweber, Nate. "Driver Said to Have Used Marijuana Regularly." The New York Times, 2009-11-06. The campground co-owner, who had gotten to know the Schulers well, had seen them off at approximately that morning, and stated that Diane appeared to be sober. The gas station clerk whom Schuler asked for pain medication at around also said, "[I knew] for a fact [that] she wasn't drunk when she came into the station."Lysiak, Matthew. "Family of Victims in Deadly Taconic crash Support Gov. Paterson's Plan to Toughen DWI Laws." New York Daily News, 2009-08-14. Accessed 2009-09-16. Archived 2009-09-18. According to Tom Ruskin, a private investigator hired by Daniel's lawyers, none of the McDonald's employees had seen anything in Schuler's behavior to suggest that she was intoxicated. In fact, she had been observed carrying on an extended conversation while ordering her food and orange juice.Lysiak, Matthew and Siemaszko, Corky. "Death Driver Diane Schuler Was Sober in McDonald's Before Crash, Says Family Investigator." New York Daily News, 2009-11-19.
Ruskin told reporters in early September that he had interviewed Diane's relatives, none of whom had ever seen her intoxicated by alcohol.Melas, Chloe. "Family: No Signs of Long-Term Drinking in Driver in Fatal Crash." CNN, 2009-09-01."Autopsy: Wrong-Way Crash Driver Not an Alcoholic." New York Post, 2009-09-02. He also pointed to autopsy results that showed an absence of organ damage often found in chronic alcoholics, although an uninvolved medical examiner noted that such results cannot rule out alcohol abuse.Amon, Michael. "Expert: Diane Schuler Should Have Had Hair Drug Test." Newsday, 2009-09-01. Schuler's relatives have also disputed that Diane was known to drink heavily or irresponsibly.Crowley, Kieran and Ginger Adams Otis. "Crash Ma Was a Toker." New York Post, 2009-08-17.