Parents Behaving Badly

Diane Schuler

Diane Schuler has killed seven people. Four of them were children, and one of them was her own child. Diane was drunk. And stoned. And driving these kids back from a camping trip. There was only one survivor from the horrific crash that occurred after she drove almost two miles on the Taconic Parkway THE WRONG WAY. Her five year old son lived.

Diane killed her three nieces, ages 9, 7, and 5, and killed her own 2-year-old daughter as well. She also killed all three men in the SUV she hit head-on. And she died as well, so she won’t be going to jail for her crimes. Apparently many family members knew she was a drunk and a stoner, and indulged in both vices on a daily basis. Her husband and brother both knew – so I am wondering what in the name of Hades either of them was thinking when they decided to let her drive the kids home from the campground. As we all know, there is no cure for stupidity, but now I guess stupidity has also become a contagious disease. More than one person had to have caught it from her, for them to be able to justify letting her ferry anyone’s kids anywhere – let alone their own.

In addition to the stupidity factor, we can also add a healthy dose of denial. In the immediate aftermath of the accident, Diane’s husband was telling anyone who would listen that his wife didn’t drink at all – she was a teetotaler. The brother hasn’t said much on that topic – only that when she called him 2 hours before the wreck, to tell him she was feeling sick, her speech was slurred, and she was almost incoherent. Yet he still did nothing. I cannot imagine the guilt he must be feeling right now. His wife knew Diane smoked pot on a daily basis, but they were still in the car with the drunk and high idiot. Why?!? Why would you let your kids ride in a vehicle with someone you know does drugs, or drinks to excess?

I have a couple of family members who are not allowed to drive my kids anywhere, because they either drink or do drugs. For years it has caused fights, and bitterness on the part of the ones who were not allowed to drive the kids around. My reply? So freaking what?!?! They are my kids, and I will protect them from whatever I can, whenever I can, and other peoples’ feelings be damned. The family members I am talking about are good people, and I love them. I love them so much that I am not willing to put them in a position where I might have to have them arrested one day. I am not willing to let them drive my kids around, because if there WAS an accident, I would blame them. It wouldn’t matter if the accident was their fault or not – I would blame them because they were impaired. I love them too much to do that. So I don’t let my kids ride with them. Simple, right? I guess not. Not for this family, anyway.

At the time of the crash, Diane had a BAC of .19 – more than twice the legal limit. She also had another 10 ounces of undigested vodka in her stomach, an empty Absolut bottle in the vehicle……and the autopsy also showed high levels of THC. Wow….just wow! And nobody noticed or cared. Un-freakin-believable!

The lives of seven people were snuffed out, and another child was severely injured, because Diane couldn’t wait till she got home to get her drink on.

Although Trench didn’t send this tip to me, I will say thanks to Kathy Thomas, because her tip in another thread led me to this story.