Driver in deadly Taconic crash Diane Schuler was drunk, had marijuana in system

It's enough to make you sick.

Cops painted a mind-boggling picture of death driver Diane Schuler on Tuesday - guzzling vodka and smoking pot with helpless kids in tow before the horrific Taconic State Parkway crash.

The 36-year-old mom drank so much she could barely see. She still had alcohol in her stomach when she crashed, killing herself, her daughter, three nieces and three men in an SUV she hit, police said.

Toxicology tests did not show what she drank, but a jumbo 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut vodka was found in the wreckage of her Ford Windstar minivan.

She consumed at least 10 ounces of liquor during the reckless 90-mile drive from a campground in Sullivan County to Briarcliff Manor in Westchester County, police said.

She smoked pot within an hour of driving the wrong way on the Taconic heading home to Long Island, police said.

The revelations brought outrage from the family of the men killed in the SUV - but silence from Schuler's relatives.

"I'm stunned that anybody would do that with kids in the car," said Robert Guzzo, whose brother-in-law and father-in-law were killed. "I'm very angry. This was not an accident ; it was a murder."

The July26 crash was ruled a homicide and referred to the Westchester County district attorney, but police don't expect charges.

The toxicology tests came as a shock after police initially said it didn't appear Schuler was drunk. Results came in Friday. Cops waited until the burials of the victims to release the results of the tests.

Killed in the Windstar were Schuler's 2-year-old daughter, Erin, and Schuler's nieces Emma Hance, 9, Alison Hance, 7, and Kate Hance, 5. Five-year-old Brian Schuler was the lone survivor.

Three Yonkers men in the SUV died - Guy Bastardi, 49, his father, Michael Bastardi, 81, and family friend Daniel Longo, 74.

"We got very devastating news today," Michael Bastardi Jr. said .

Schuler's blood-alcohol level was 0.19% - more than twice the legal limit, cops said. She had 6 grams of undigested alcohol in her stomach when she died.

"She would have had difficulty with her perception, with her judgment and her memory," said Betsy Spratt, the Westchester County toxicology examiner.

"Around that level of alcohol you start to get tunnel vision where you can't see peripherally all the time." Marijuana intensifies the effects.

Police could not say if Schuler got wasted while driving or stopped along the way. It was unclear if she was drinking before she got behind the wheel to drive the children home from camping.

Her husband, Daniel Schuler, told cops that his wife was fine when they left about 9:30 a.m. He drove one car straight home to West Babylon, L.I., while she took the kids to McDonald's.

Ann Scott, 77, who owns the campsite the family visited for three years, saw Schuler off.

"I got pretty close to her and waved goodbye," she said. "If she had alcohol in her breath, I would have smelled it."

Schuler drove erratically along much of the route. About 1 p.m., she called brother Warren Hance and said she was sick. At 1:30 p.m., Schuler entered the northbound Taconic via an exit ramp. She drove 1.7 miles the wrong way before plowing into the Bastardis.

"I don't even want to think about if the brother knew what she was doing and let those kids get in the car," Guzzo said.

How much Schuler's loved ones knew is a mystery.

"At this point we're getting limited information from the family," said Maj. William Carey of the state police.

The family was notified of the test results Friday, police said. The day before, Schuler and the four girls were laid to rest.

At the funeral, Hance lovingly remembered his three daughters and paid tribute to Schuler's "miracle" boy, Brian. He didn't say a word about his sister.

With Edgar Sandoval, John Lauinger, Henrick Karoliszyn and Tanyanika Samuels
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