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Reports: Taconic Crash Driver Was Regular Drinker, Pot Smoker
By
Ben Muessig
Published Nov 7, 2009
Modified Nov 7, 2009
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By
Ben Muessig
Published Nov 7, 2009
Modified Nov 7, 2009
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The woman who killed eight people, including herself, when she drove her minivan the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway was a heavy drinker and frequent marijuana smoker, the woman's sister-in-law told investigators. Despite her husband's repeated claims that his wife wasn't an alcoholic or regular drug user, Diane Schuler's in-law revealed to police that the 36-year-old "was a hard drinker" who "used marijuana daily because of the fact that she didn't believe in doctors," according to an attorney representing the families of two men killed in the July accident.
While a toxicology report that indicated Schuler consumed a significant amount of marijuana and more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in the hours before the crash, her husband, Danny Schuler, has publicly denied that his wife suffered from drinking or drug problems and blamed the accident and on other medical issues.
However, reports today indicate that just two days before the crash, he had a few beers and his wife had a few daiquiris at their upstate campsite — a revelation that infuriated relatives of the victims. "It's totally the opposite of what [Danny] Schuler said at a press conference in August," said Micheal Bastardi Jr., whose dad Michael Sr., and brother Guy died in the crash. "It's disgusting. It was all lies."
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