The film profiles Diane Schuler, who caused the fatal car accident, through interviews with her family members and friends, and attempts to piece together Schuler's actions on the day of the accident, in order to determine why the accident took place. There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane Reviews. The Overlook Film Festival has unveiled the full lineup for its 2023 edition, taking place in New Orleans from March 30-April 2, naming the world premiering Universal horror-comedy Renfield as its Her family trying to claim she didn't drink were probably clueless to what was really going on with her. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Schuler's son, Bryan, who was 5 at the time, was the only survivor. She has time on the drive to ponder things, and seems to be driving aimlessly. But I lean towards intentional act. But the egregious nature of the accident is highly unique. Now not only is she drunk and high but she's really really mad. She was the breadwinner in the family and had to take full responsibility for the kids. The drive takes about 40 min, but she's gone for over an hour when her brother called. Maybe her husband told her he wanted a divorce or that he never wanted kids. SHE DROVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY FOR TWO MILES. Not 100% anyway. Maintaining cookie cutters lives is not worth the price. 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. Jackie Hance recounts a phone conversation with him where he called her "crazy" and basically behaved like a complete ass. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Daniel cried but once during a press conference that drained onlookers emotions. She could have been black-out drunk. [R40] is on the nose, too. I do.). 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. The amount of booze in her stomach was like 10 shots' worth, not counting what was already metabolized at the time of death. Or maybe not in secret; it wouldn't have been hard to hide her alcoholism from that clueless family. So whats the theory of when exactly she can cracked open the giant bottle of vodka and was smoking all the pot (seems like it might have happened quite fast?). Part of this is about access: some key figures, like Warren and Jackie Hance, Dianes brother and sister-in-law, whose three daughters died in the crash, declined to be interviewed. Nearly two years after the accident, Theres Something Wrong With Aunt Diane, a documentary on HBO, reveals previously unknown information about that day, and sheds light on the unknown side of Schuler. She ignored her brothers entreaties to stay put. There's something wrong with Ginny in billing. In light of the Patriots Drive Safe SGA Spring Project, this true crime documentary about Diane Schuler is also a story that students can learn from. In There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane, award-winning director Liz Garbus (see below) explores the facts and speculation surrounding this tragic accident. The Mystery Of Aunt Diane And The 2009 Taconic State Parkway Crash. Shes my little girl. The simple truth is that she guzzled vodka and smoked pot, got blotto and killed eight people, including herself. Shes gone, he said, choking up. The lawsuits against the estate of Diane Schuler, 36, claimed she was negligent when she drove a minivan south in the northbound lanes of the parkway on July 26, 2009. 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? She still drove while fucked up and killed lots of people. How was she even conscious after drinking that much? Revisiting the accident that occurred on July 26, 2009, when Diane Schuler drove the wrong way on New York's Taconic State Parkway and collided with . Someone who deals by not dealing, if you know what I mean? Some features on this site require registration. "It's been a long five years," said Michael Bastardi Jr., whose father and brother were killed when Diane Schuler of Long Island drove her minivan head-on into their car. 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. "When you are on Ambien you could eat a whole meal and drink a bottle of booze and not even know it. It seemed to want to find a medical reason to account for Diana Schuler's abominable behavior. Schuler's family, including her husband, Daniel Schuler, blamed her bizarre behavior on an undefined medical condition. I think R21 nailed it. "We just didn't get the answers we needed," said Bastardi, 55. The official HBO poster of Theres Something Wrong with Aunt Diane, a documentary from 2011. Yeah, Diane's brother not calling the police right away is the tip off for me that they all knew she was drunk. The autopsy showed no.traces of Ambien in her system. You'd think she had no anger at all. She bought orange juice to use as a mixer! Meanwhile, her husband, Daniel Schuler, was in another vehicle. -, Press J to jump to the feed. [quote] Her husband, brother and sister-in-law all know she's impaired but figure it's something she always does so she'll manage. Why that weekend though, R58? 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. [R21] sounds like he/she was right in the car! The drive takes about 40 min, but she's gone for over an hour when her brother called. Bastardi and several attorneys associated with the court cases declined to discuss the cases Wednesday. But when toxicology reports revealed Schuler was heavily intoxicated at the time of the crash, it seemed like an open and closed case of drunk driving. She also tested positive for marijuana use. The poor kid, his mother and sister dead, and stuck with a lamebrain asshole of a father. [quote] I just find it hard to believe this woman was an alcoholic and no one thought that she should not drive the kids around. I wonder if he's found another woman stupid enough to marry him? I totally agree. Why was she so drunk on a Sunday afternoon? Her minivan collided with an SUV, resulting in the deaths of Schuler, her daughter, her three nieces, and three passengers in the other car. Wednesday, March 1, 2023: Today on General Hospital, Obrecht is furious with both Liz and Scott, Finn offers to stand by Liz, and Sonny and Dex bond over a meal. I don't get it. 2011. That does make the marriage was was in major trouble thing make sense. The hot air makes her feel worse. If just one had made it wed maybe not be debating it at all. 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. Jackie Hance had another baby to replace the three girls she lost. Take a look at 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. 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. Top Critics. R65 that's no way to describe Datalounge Danny! There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane (2011) From the movie's offset, we know that something terrible has happened. I'm watching this now (for the 4th or 5th time) -- where do you see that she was "full of rage? told her on the phone that his independent lab tests returned the same results as the original autopsy regarding Diane's blood alcohol levels. From all the various testimonials about her (like her friends that she cut off because apparently they didn't like Danny), you just see that that woman was a loving mom, but also full of so much rage. She was angry at her husband for being such a useless loser. I do not get why she stayed with that asshole husband of hers. Senior Emma Song is a managing editor in her third year on Common Sense. Why didn't she just leave the car and kill herself by jumping off a bridge or something? I think the most aggravating thing (not the most devastating thing, as that would be the death of innocent children) about this case is that we will simply never know what in the hell really happened to cause her to behave the way she did. If you drink and smoke weed WHILE driving in the morning, you aren't just a heavy drinker or a functional alcoholic- you REALLY can't cope without substances if you take that big of a risk. Yes indeed, we too use "cookies." Done deal. This story has been shared 136,057 times. 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. "TV review: 'There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane', "A riveting, in-depth look at eight deaths and one enduring mystery". 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. No mystery! She struck me as someone who worked hard & played hardprobably had a personality disorder or something. Words are exchanged and she's really angry because her brother is yelling at her saying he knows she's a drunk and a pothead and should never have trusted her with his kids. Oh, I'm sure she was bothered; bothered by being left holding the bag while her dipshit husband went on his merry way. So sad. R40, I didn't know about Diane's mother abandoning her at 9 years old. Witnesses state her expression was serene and oblivious - as if she was completely unaware she was going the wrong way. I don't really get the ambien thing either. And she tried to hide all this anger by smoking pot and drinking in secret. I think he survived but the woman driving the car he crashed into didn't. But did she leave it there on purpose, or was she so fucked up she set it down and forgot it? He didnt realize it until the police told him. Why not just drink enough to take the edge off & get home safely? I read in one article that the kids were playing at the McDonalds playpen thing for an hour. The July 26, 2009, crash was one of Westchester County's most horrific. Maybe all the adults were heavy drinkers and MJ smokers. Days after the accident you could still see a few items (like a tennis ball) on the side of the road. She's seen becoming visibly ill. She gets shitfaced to work up the courage and to offer a reason for the crash as an accident vs a simple suicide. 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. Thats pretty damning. Grennan said there are still two cases pending in the state Court of Claims alleging that the design of the roadway was faulty. Her hands are on the wheel in the 2:00 and 10:00 position. At one point the retarded hubby said "could she have been hallucinating and drinking vodka thinking it was water?" She drank some vodka right out of the bottle and probably smoked some pot. judging from the death photos, R86, no. click ACCEPT. The HBO documentary There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane tracked Daniel's journey to clear his wife's name. If she WASNT such a heavy drinker that 190 made her so impaired Why did she take such an outrageous risk by drinking and driving with kids in the car? I just watched "There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane," which I found interesting and thought-provoking. "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. She drank and smoked to give herself courage/numb the pain, and she 100% got on the highway on the wrong side intentionally to kill herself and her kids. If this was a standard ugly crash - fine, I totally buy it. But was she the monster the public made her out to be? [quote]The McDonalds employees and the camp ground owner also swear that Diane wasnt drunk when they saw and interacted with them that morning. For nearly two miles, Schuler was driving the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway. No doubt she needed to take the edge off frequently and did it by drinking and smoking pot. The child calls her parents and is crying because Diane is screaming at the kids to shut the hell up. She's not weaving. . I do.). for your pointless bitchery needs. I mean, ALL of that made sense! But court records show that civil cases, including one filed by the Bastardi family in December 2009, had been settled by April. That's just another lame, totally unproven excuse for Shuler's behavior. She was pulling over to puke, ffs. It's August - hot and humid. Its interesting to note that Diane called the brother and SIL multiple times but never called the husband once after they left the campgrounds. There was an interesting discussion on this sub, perhaps last year, where some people who were familiar with heavy marijuana use + high amounts of alcohol being quickly consumed = being super extremely fucked up. Only slightly off topic, there was a great Law & Order episode based on this during its final season. We have had 2 wrong way drivers on the expressway here kill other people in the last week. C'mon. 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. It makes me wonder at what point is that day she decided she was going to just kill all of them? Worth the watch. Emma took the phone to tell her dad that she had a great time camping upstate with the Schulers. Interesting. Or maybe one of them said something to her which set her off, because she saw that the pattern was repeating. She was supposedly texting and the police ruled out the kids as being a distraction. He suggested an abscessed tooth may have caused a stroke. 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. 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. You are a PARENT and you drive when you are drunk and high? This mysterious and shattering tragedy draws the public in, feeling a need to find out what really happened to Aunt Diane. There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane (HBO Docs) HBODocs 149K subscribers Subscribe 291 Share 420K views 11 years ago Subscribe to HBO Docs: http://itsh.bo/10r45k3 "There's. If someone had said, "Diane, you're too drunk to drive," someone else would have had to drive a vanload of children. As one of the worst motor-vehicle accidents in New York State history, the tragedy quickly became national news. Her alcoholism makes more sense. The dad hastily exited a she wasnt drunk press conference yesterday to be grilled by Nassau County child welfare workers, whom he met at the Westchester hospital where his son, Bryan, 5, was recovering from his injuries. I'm a parent, and can understand how a person could drive in that condition. She purposely killed the kids and herself because she was an angry control freak. 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. 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. 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. There are signs, EVERYONE IGNORED THESE SIGNS? 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. Authorities want to figure out if Schuler, who denied that his wife even liked the taste of alcohol, is a danger to his son. At least two of the calls were to her brother, Warren Hance, the father of three girls who lost their lives. Was she really the reckless drunk, or the perfect suburban mother? Also: early on, she called her sister-in-law to say that there was a lot of traffic and that was delaying her getting back with her nieces. Leading up to the crash, it appeared as though Schuler was behaving normally. She then got some orange juice so she mix more vodka into it and drink it without the kids seeing it. This case has also fascinated me for years. I just don't understand how people can think someone goes from driving perfectly fine, using a cell phone totally fine, being "coherent" by all account witnesses, and having experience with heavy drinking, to "she drank herself to the point that she didn't realize she was driving the wrong-way for 2 miles without swerving.". This seems highly unlikely to me. So no basic car safety was used for any of the 5 kidseven the 2 year old? After reading in the NY Daily News that Aunt Diane *left her cell phone on the side of the road* after that last mysterious phone call with the brother (purposely leaving it behindthe only item she did that with) and suddenly driving pin straight 80-85mph down the wrong side of the freeway (after she had weaved and tailgated and driven erratically before for 60 miles and the the brother said he was on his way and for her to stay put after the last phone call) I definitely think she did it on purpose. I don't think it's uncommon. Why blow her cover by getting that wasted? The book by the mother who lost the three girls was very softball. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. I have no idea. Your email address will not be published. Interesting suggestion. 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. 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. She's really tired from partying all weekend without sleep, thus the iced coffee. The 2 kept insisting that if Diane had had alcohol problems, they would have know about it. As mentioned by the source, Diane was driving a red 2003 Ford Windstar that belonged to her brother. Clearly, Diane had a lot of responsibility on her shoulders in that family. hbo Poisoned Apple Donate to Common Sense $1496 $2000 Contributed Our Goal If thats true, Im guessing Aunt Diane stepped out to drink and smoke during at least some of that time? Its actually pretty common. 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