Documentary. Then Emma made her anguished cry. 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). of undigested alcohol still in her stomach (even after pulling over to vomit twice)so we know she did it. God rest her soul. Only slightly off topic, there was a great Law & Order episode based on this during its final season. Im just wondering at what point exactly she started what seems to have been a binge? "I do hope, someday," Bastardi said, "maybe if they have a change of heart they'll reach out and we'll find out what really went on. I'm watching this now (for the 4th or 5th time) -- where do you see that she was "full of rage? , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes. 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!. Jesus Christ! By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and
I don't know how much you'd have to take to sleep drive or sleep eat. The settlement included claims by the estates of the three Yonkers men in the other car who died: Guy Bastardi, 49; his father, Michael Bastardi, 81; and their friend, Daniel Longo, 74. Why not just drink enough to take the edge off & get home safely? At least his sleazy lawyer's been disbarred and pretty much lost everything. This one always bothers me because both "sides" (accident versus intentional) have some pieces that make sense, but some parts that just don't fit. 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 . Senior Emma Song is a managing editor in her third year on Common Sense. Please complete the process by verifying your email address. Those accents. If this is true, Dumb Danny From Long Guyland is a real asshole for suing the families of the little girls! Like most rest areas it is laid out to be as obviously one-way as possible but he still managed to get back on the highway the wrong way. This mysterious and shattering tragedy draws the public in, feeling a need to find out what really happened to Aunt Diane. 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. That child knew she was in trouble. Her blood alcohol level was 0.19, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08. Thats insane. She's not weaving. She's going really fast because she just wants to get home and go to bed. Medical examiners also foundtraces of THCin her system. Okay, guys, if we believe this 2009 NY POST article, Diane was a secret alcoholic who drank basically every day at a bar for at least two years and in the last few months of her life was miserable in her marriage and felt trapped in it. That does make the marriage was was in major trouble thing make sense. Daniel Schuler and his in-laws, Warren and Jackie Hance, later sued each other over the crash. WTF? With her were five young children: her son, her daughter, and three nieces. She struck me as someone who worked hard & played hardprobably had a personality disorder or something. Hello. Were the campers near them during the weekend ever interviewed to see if there was something that occurred to set her off? She has time on the drive to ponder things, and seems to be driving aimlessly. I think she did it only after being set off by some event during the camping trip and because drinking and being high gave her the "courage" and decreased her judgement. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. --. The primary interviewees are Schuler's husband, Daniel, and sister-in-law, Jay, who are convinced that the toxicology report showing Schuler's high level of alcohol and THC intoxication was inaccurate, or that Schuler did not knowingly consume the intoxicants. R76, I agree with you. Her alcoholism makes more sense. Theres Something Wrong With Aunt Diane reveals a complex and complicated case as opposed to one solved by simple or reductive analysis. Little crosses and flowers are in the medians where the two cars ended up. Have you had it tested? Please click here to register for free. Maintaining cookie cutters lives is not worth the price. with updates on movies, TV shows, Rotten Tomatoes podcast and more. 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. A guy I went to college with got on the highway going the wrong way, drunk, supposedly after taking a nap at a rest area. Things had likely been spiraling in the relationship for a while - unhappiness, feeling overburdened, etc. Depression and mental health can cause a person to do insane things. Plus, as the documentary unfolds, we're given more and more insights into the personal problems that may have led her to Diane's final destructive act. Please click here to get full access and no ads for $1.99 or less per month. After watching, I poked around Reddit and was shocked to see that the general consensus seems to be that she over-medicated and went into an incoherent state leading to the crash. The film, however, raised more questions than it answered. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. judging from the death photos, R86, no. And then there was the pot. I don't get the lingering loyalty to his POS sister. It makes me wonder at what point is that day she decided she was going to just kill all of them? Her minivan collided with an SUV, resulting in the deaths of Schuler, her daughter, her three nieces, and three passengers in the other car. In the L&O episode the Diane character was threatening to whistle blow on the uselessness of an expensive cancer drug her company was promoting, so a co-worker silenced her by covertly getting her drunk and high. 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. Some one will want a nice payday and will talk. 'SOMETHING WRONG WITH AUNT DIANE' By Andrea Peyser August 7, 2009 6:30am IN THE minutes before Diane Schuler drunkenly smashed her vehicle while traveling in the wrong direction on the. My r11 that was an interesting take. The Bastardi and Longo families pushed for prosecutors to convene a grand jury, but it never happened. It chronicles the Schuler family's absolute denial that Diane was drunk and high at the time of the crash.". There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane Reviews. Were the smaller children strapped into car seats? I remember seeing the husband on Larry King shortly after the accident, and he had so much rage you could have added him to the nuclear stockpile. [1] It premiered on HBO on July 25, 2011. All the eyewitness statements tend to support it being an intentional act. She's driving straight ahead probably with one eye closed because she's seeing double. But I lean towards intentional act. 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. A wife and mother, who was also a cable TV executive, emerges in the film as a woman who strove to be perfect, often referred to as supermom by friends and family. I don't get it. If thats true, Im guessing Aunt Diane stepped out to drink and smoke during at least some of that time? As mentioned by the source, Diane was driving a red 2003 Ford Windstar that belonged to her brother. R39, I just saw the documentary. I just dont get how she goes from camping every weekend and being a PTA mom who doesnt let the kids out of her sighta great mom (per a neighbor) to purposely terrifying and murdering all the kids, herself, and a handful of drivers. Yeah it's rather amazing people kept wanting to believe ANYTHING happened other that the obvious. Family members often are. No doubt she needed to take the edge off frequently and did it by drinking and smoking pot. It was in her blood and there was still 6 (was it ounces or quarts?) Five young children were in the car as well: her son, her daughter and three nieces. 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. In the aftermath, Diane Schuler was portrayed as a reckless drunk and a mother who cracked. Bastardi and several attorneys associated with the court cases declined to discuss the cases Wednesday. The movie offers a few plausible explanations as . That's just another lame, totally unproven excuse for Shuler's behavior. She purposely killed the kids and herself because she was an angry control freak. Available on iTunes, HBO Max. Schuler had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19, more than twice the legal limit. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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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. Two things that I haven't seen answered anywhere in the media. "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. On Sunday, July 26, 2009, Diane Schuler set off in her car toward home on Long Island, a drive she had made numerous times before. Witnesses Report Schuler Was Remarkably Calm While Driving The Wrong Way If she did it to excess or was actually an alcoholic it would have been easy to hide it from that clueless family. They could be the smartest people in the world but that accent makes them sound like dumbasses. I want to clear her name, he said. Was she really the reckless drunk, or the perfect suburban mother?This documentary explores the depth behind the case of a woman whose vehicle collision killed numerous people, including herself. Families always feed on the carcasses. Let's also consider the evidenceshe drove perfectly to a McDonald's, rest stop, etc., had the cohesion to use her phone and make a call, but somehow cannot recognize the fact that she is driving on the wrong side of the highway, and does so perfectly straight without any swerving, etc. Oh, I'm sure she was bothered; bothered by being left holding the bag while her dipshit husband went on his merry way. The first call Diane made was relatively unpanicked. Maybe it was Ambien? They want to see how depressed he is, added my source. The exchange was reportedly coherent, and Jackie did not indicate anything seemed amiss with Schuler. I agree that it was likely a murder-suicide. This was curious, because the Schulers said they left upstate early, around 9:30 a.m. on July 26. There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane True Crime Obsessed True Crime On Sunday, July 26, 2009, Diane Schuler left the campgrounds in upstate New York where she was vacationing with her family and set off towards home on Long Island. We have had 2 wrong way drivers on the expressway here kill other people in the last week. Ms. Garbus offered to move forward the fitful investigation that Mr. Schuler and Jay Schuler have sponsored in their effort to vindicate Diane, or at least to explain her behavior. All in all, I find this case fascinating but so frustrating because we will never actually know for sure. I work in an ER and the regular daily drinkers are walking and talking to me in the 200 and 300s.. even the 400s. Michael Bastardi Jr., who wrote a book about the experience, remains convinced that the Schuler and Hance families can provide some details to shed light on the events of that day. The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth: Season 8, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 1, Link to Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. See production, box office & company info, I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, Jane Velez-Mitchell: Episode dated 26 July 2011. And I could see the stop at McDonald's to let the kids play as being a "last hoorah" of sorts for them (which is so fucking sad). If just one had made it wed maybe not be debating it at all. And then ignored her children's screams of terrors and pleas to pull over as traffic was coming head on. Tomatometer 1 Reviews. It was strange that they featured her four high school friends and one person who seemed just a neighbor on the documentary but no real intimates or who knew her in her daily life. I've said this from the beginning & just felt like a big ol' pessimist who has no faith in people, lol. 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. Shes gone, he said, choking up. The gas station/store attendant said she was sober as well when she care in to try to buy some Tylenol. Since this aired I have read comments saying that it could have been that Diane blacked out after taking Ambien. Maybe her husband told her he wanted a divorce or that he never wanted kids. She was a murderer that took the lives of 5 innocent children and 3 innocent men and her husband, bother and sister-in-laws - Jackie and Jay all covered for her. The amount of booze in her stomach was like 10 shots' worth, not counting what was already metabolized at the time of death. Your email address will not be published. Maybe it was 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?! I wonder if he's still a security guard? 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. Diane Schuler was a 36-year-old woman from New York. Diane was found to have an insane amount of alcohol and weed in her system at the time of the crash, and her family somehow doesn't believe her findings. It messed her up. This contrasts with the aftermath of her actions. Some features on this site require a subscription. Investigators said Diane Schuler drove against traffic and struck Bastardi's car. ", I agree that she was drunk and high, btw. HBO's 'There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane' Documentary examines fatal crash by wrong-way driver on N.Y. highway. Warren, her dad, came in at the end of the conversation and called back at 1:02PM where he spoke to Diane and she was slurring, incoherent and called him Danny. I think something happen on that camping trip, like she found out her waste of space of a husband was having an affair and lost her shit. Actually I do think Diane's husband was simple minded. A 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut was found in Schulers wrecked Ford Windstar after the fiery July 26 smash-up, which killed her, her 2-year-old daughter, her three young nieces and three Yonkers men in the SUV she hit. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Hello. Maybe all the adults were heavy drinkers and MJ smokers. 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. Verified Audience. "I'm watching this now (for the 4th or 5th time) -- where do you see that she was "full of rage?". She drank some vodka right out of the bottle and probably smoked some pot. I think R21 has it. (Not making sure his 2 year old daughter had a car seat?). This article about a historical documentary film is a stub. When you are on Ambien you could eat a whole meal and drink a bottle of booze and not even know it. She is known as the main subject of the Taconic State Parkway crash back in 2009. Yes, why hasn't her brother ever revealed the details of the phone call to Diane? 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