Diane Schuler ////// Episode: 69 | Forensic Files

[Music] [Applause] Heat Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, thanks
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a chair, grab a beer, and let's talk some True Crime. [Music] This is True Crime Garage.
And this is the case of Diane Schuler. [Music] Can you give a a more detailed description of what happened before she
went off on the trip home? >> What you what you had to eat together? What conversation?
>> Yeah. >> Right from the moment you woke up. I woke up at 6:00. Went down to my boat to
clean it out. Do what I got to do. came back about4 to 7 7 o'clock I woke her up
saying we had to start cleaning the camper so we can start getting home before traffic
she woke up started packing the bags slowly started waking the kids up slowly start getting the kids dressed we
unloaded the camper all the bags outside the camper and I walk to the car and we
load them up we had a cup of coffee two cups of coffee and then we left you remember your last hurts.
>> Yeah. Just everyone go by and my wife. >> Thank you. [Music] >> They were trying to locate the kids and
they the best they could the best they could come up with was that they were on they were at the Tartown Rec Center. I'm
trying to help a friend of mine. Uh his sister took his girls camping. They're very young girls. The oldest is nine.
The girls the girl just called in distress. They said that the aunt is driving very erratically. We think she's
sick. The aunt isn't picking up the cell phone right now. >> The sister called. She can't talk
anymore. There's three kids in the car. They're trying to five. They're trying to locate her. The woman's name is Diane
Schula. You just put out to the postcard >> and see if they could locate her because
the the the woman that's driving the car they think is having a medical emergency
because she called and then she couldn't talk anymore. And she's got five kids in
the car. >> Need to know whose name the car is registered to. more enhanced. This is my
car. >> It's your car. >> Yes. [Music] Most of you will know that uh from the trailer and from the sound clips
involved in the trailer that today we are talking about the Taconic Parkway crash that took place July 26, 2009. Now
you're saying, "Well, this sounds like an accident, Nick. Why? Uh, sounds like an accident that you're doing the show,
but it also sounds like a car accident. Yeah. However, we back in uh at the end of October, we did our uh very fun
Halloween show. If you've not checked that out, go back and check that out. But what we did was we both picked our
top 10 favorite true crime documentaries. And after that was released, we had a lot of great feedback
from the listeners stating, you know, oh, I you've given me documentaries to watch and that I'm excited to check out.
Uh, have you seen this one? Have you seen that one? And >> and overwhelmingly, we got you we should
check out There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane. >> Yeah. Which I was originally released on
HBO. Um, and I watched it recently on Amazon Prime. Mhm. >> Uh so there's some ways to to find that
out and to watch it for yourself, but as the captain said, we had a ton of people
saying, "This is one of my favorite uh quote unquote true crime documentaries." So that's what we will be discussing
today. So >> well, and and we had uh one of my buddies, Jess, tell me, "You guys
shouldn't cover this. This is not a this is not a crime. This is, you know, maybe
drunk driving, but like you were stating earlier to me, um, the police then they
they ruled this a homicide. >> Yeah. Yeah. According to the Westchester Medical Examiner, the crash was quickly
ruled a homicide because all the victims were killed due to Dian's driving, regardless of the toxicology findings
that that they would uh come up with weeks after the crash. So to to set this up, um Diane Scheler is the driver of of
the vehicle that caused the accident that caused the crash. And um she was born in 1973. She was the fourth child
of Warren and Eileene Hance. Uh she's the only girl in the family. >> Uh when Diane was about 9 years old, her
mother left the family. Now, this would be something that she didn't seem to like to talk much about or to go into
much detail of. Um, but it sounds like her mother may have left with a neighbor man or a family friend.
>> Mhm. >> Um, but after she leaves, Diane kind of takes on some of the mother type roles.
I I hate to box that into the mo mother category because it's not mom's job to clean the house or clean the kitchen.
So, I don't want any of that feedback, but that's what took place took place in this situation. Her being the only girl,
she took on some of those duties that the the mother might have generally done beforehand. Now, at some point in their
lives, the her and her brother's lives, the mother did reappear and reach out to
the different children and try to have some type of relationship with them, >> make amends of some kind. And I'm not
certain at what point in their lives this took place, but it sounds like that Diane was not accepting of her mother
where the other children have some sort of relationship with her. Now, however, once she left the family and left
Diane's life, Diane chose not to let her back into hers. Diane is described by friends and family
as a very smart woman, uh, hardworking. Uh, she seemed to be the take charge kind of person. her friends and family
all said that if there was any kind of situation, regardless of family or what what you were out to be doing that day,
she was always taking charge of each situation. Uh she, as we said, hardworking. She worked her way up the
ladder at a big business. Uh she worked for Cable Vision. Uh and she was the director of credit billing and
collections and she earned approximately like $100,000 a year. So she was a driven person. She was successful. Uh
she was married to Daniel Scheler and her and Daniel um they had two kids together and uh they worked opposite
schedules though. Daniel was a uh security guy and he worked which is you know primarily a night job and that's
what he worked. He worked lots of nights. Uh and Diane worked more traditional hours with uh her job at the
cable vision company. As we said Daniel and Diane had two children. These were young children, a young daughter and
young son uh at the time of this crash. Um and she they also had three nieces and the way that what they were doing
this weekend, what led up to this was they had taken a family camping trip. Okay. Yeah.
>> And they took the three knees like the typical, >> you know, you park your trailer at a
little spot and maybe there's a lake and and the Schelers, they had a boat, so they're going out on the boat.
>> Yeah. It's it's it's a summer, you know, it's the summer months. It's July. It's,
you know, probably great weather. You get out on the boat with your family and you have a great time. Well, on Sunday,
it's time to leave. This is Sunday, July 26th. And around 9:30 a.m., uh, Diane left the Hunter Lake Campground. Now,
she's driving a 2003 Ford WindStar van. This is a red color van with the ski rack. Uh, and it's not her van. It's a
vehicle that was borrowed from Warren and Jackie Hance. Um, Warren is her brother, and they are also the um
parents of the three nieces, >> three daughters. So, in the vehicle with Diane were uh her 5-year-old son Brian,
her two-year-old daughter Aaron, and as said, her three nieces. This is Emma, who is 8 years old, Allison, who is
seven, and Kate, who is only 5 years old. Now, Daniel, her husband, is leaving the campgrounds that day as
well, at the exact same time, as a matter of fact, but he's in a truck and he's going to be traveling alone. Um,
and a witness at the campground who had seen them that morning and saw them leaving said that everything appeared to
be normal. This is just a family packing up and heading home for from a great weekend trip.
>> Well, and like you heard in the trailer, Daniel is talking about their, you know,
what happened when they woke up. They woke up, had a couple co cup of coffee, you know, a couple cups of coffee. Uh,
then he goes down to the boat. He does what he needs to get done and and wraps that all up and probably connects the
boat to the truck trailer. Mhm. >> And then she's going to take off separate. So again, he's he's claiming
that there was nothing odd about there was no fight. There was no argument going on. Um and she packed up the stuff
and packed up the kids and went on their way. >> Mhm. And the the general idea here is
that Daniel's going to head straight home. Um he's, you know, he's got the truck and he's going to go straight
home. And now Diane with uh with the children is going to stop off at McDonald's to get breakfast or get
something for her and the kids to eat. >> Um so they make their stop at the McDonald's restaurant and um the cashier
there says that he remembers seeing Diane and the children and that nothing seemed to be abnormal to him. Um, and
uh, you know, I'm going to go ahead and throw this out there cuz, you know, foreshadowing away, you know, set aside,
but he he straight up says, you know, she did not seem intoxicated or under the influence of anything, nor does he
smell any alcohol on her breath. >> Yeah, but I mean, I've gone through McDonald's drive-thru at night
>> intoxicated. I I don't promote drinking and driving, but sometimes it happens.
Buzz driving is drunk driving. Um the to me is there much weight to this eyewitness? Not much. And the reason why
I think that is because the exchange is going to be so quick, >> right? >> You know, you're going to you go to
window one, you give the your money, you go to window two, grab your food. How how much do you actually talk to the
person handing you your food? >> And even if you go into the restaurant itself, it it you know, it's 9:30 on a
Sunday, >> right? it. People I don't even like McDonald's, but I find myself there for
breakfast about once. >> There's nothing wrong with McDonald's. >> Once every other month. Yeah.
>> Um, you know, because it's convenient and it's there and it's quick. And I'm sure like said, there's so many people
in out of there that he may or may not. >> By the way, you went to McDonald's today?
>> I I did. I did, by the way. Um, so they stop at the McDonald's and nothing seems
to be abnormal to anybody. Now, at 10:46 a.m., Diane stops at a SoCo gas station.
Mhm. >> Uh, and this she goes in and she asked for some kind of pain medication. This
would be your typical over- the-counter type pain medication. I don't know what type she specifically asked for. I'm
guessing maybe Advil or something of that nature, but for whatever reason, the Synokco did not carry uh the pain
medication that she was looking for. Now, she did speak with the gas station attendant and he says that uh again,
everything seemed normal here. you know, she doesn't seem to be intoxicated or acting strangely to him.
>> And and right and unless she has an allergy of some kind to a different pain medicine like to me if her pain was that
bad, if it was a headache, I mean to me it doesn't matter if it's Tylenol or Advil, you know, I just normally just
use the one that are paying us, you know, to, you know, present their brand to our listeners. But uh so to to me I
find that odd where if if she was in pain and they said, "Well, we don't have this kind but we have this other kind."
Then wouldn't you just take that other kind? >> Right. Right. That seems strange to me
cuz it >> so maybe she wasn't in that much pain. Maybe it's just a headache or and and
and again, we won't know this, but what what if she wasn't in pain? What if she was stopping to get, you know, pain
medicine for one of the kids? You know, maybe she asked for and this Here's the thing with eyewitness accounts. Would
this change the whole, you know, speculation and the whole conspiracy and all all that kind of stuff with this
crash if she was act as ask, you know, what if she was asking for children's Tylenol?
>> Mhm. >> And then she said, "Well, we don't have that, >> right?" >> You know, but she didn't then when she's
talking to the cops, she doesn't register all she asked for children's Tylenol. >> Yeah. And so far, nothing out of the
ordinary here. But now the next spot on the timeline is where things I think things start to seem weird to me, you
know. So now that we're at 11:37 a.m. and Diane using her cell phone calls Jackie Hance, uh this is the mother of
the nieces that are traveling with her and she calls basically just to say, you know, we're running later than we
expected. U I'll have the girls home later than expected. The reason why this starts to get weird to me here, Captain,
is it's 11:37. You know, according to Daniel, they left the campground at 9:30. So, now we're over the 2hour mark
since they've been gone. And I've heard that this is supposed to be like a 35 minute, maybe 40 minute trip home. Mhm.
>> I understand that they stopped at the McDonald's and now they're making a second stop at the Senokco, but but
still we're starting to see an amount of time elapse that seems seems a little more than necessary to me.
>> Yeah. Well, I think one like I I tell everybody, you know, go forward 5 minutes or back five minutes and you're
going to be a little off, but I mean, you know, McDonald's parking it's it's not a drive-thru, you know, at 9:30 in
the morning or 10:00 in the morning. It's It's a parking lot. >> Mhm. >> So, how long did they spend there? I I
don't know. >> They could have stayed and ate there or ate in the car. Um that would take up
some time. Especially these being young children, you would have to help them, assist them, make sure that you don't
end up with ketchup smeared all over the back seat. >> Yeah. Or you stop and you eat in the
parking lot and then you take everybody in to use the restroom. So, I mean, >> but again, I I'm starting to see a a
time elapse here that seems a little more than >> Yeah, it seems a little fishy. Well, at
12:00 p.m. at noon, um, by this time, Diane and >> Well, quick question. When she makes the
phone call um to the girl's mother, is she able to like finish the conversation, it's like a complete
conversation. >> Yeah, it's a complete conversation. Basically, just stating that they're
running later than expected and she'll have the girls home later than expected. Okay.
>> Uh, by noon, they have made their way. This is Diane in the red uh Ford Winstar
van along with the children. They've made their way to Interstate 87. >> Now, we have an eyewitness here as well.
His name is Gerald Salerno, sorry. And he is driving in a vehicle as well. He's traveling south on Interstate 87 when he
says that a vehicle came up on him rather quickly. This is the red Ford Winstar van. And the vehicle started
jumping back and forth between two lanes. Yeah, it's going from the right lane to the center lane, back to the
right lane. >> Exactly. And it's changing the vehicle's changing lanes very aggressively.
>> But he also claims that it was precise. >> Mhm. >> That it wasn't like >> wasn't swerving or
>> aggressively shift the lane. >> More like somebody trying to get somewhere fast,
>> right? >> Um aggressively changing lanes. And he can see the driver. It's a female driver
and she appears to be holding on to the wheel as normal and but he says intensely focusing on the road is what
he could tell. Um this is the first incident where we start having reports of some something
going on in the vehicle that there's some erratic driving going on. That leads us to 12:13 p.m. We have another
eyewitness involved here. Now we're at the location of the Heramman Toll Plaza. Now the eyewitness here is Francis
Bagley and he's driving in his vehicle and his vehicle is in front of the red Ford WinStar van. Uh and he states that
Diane's car, the van was so close to his that he could not see her headlights, you know, so she's tailgating him
basically. >> That's the worst. >> And he can't see her headlights. Uh, and she starts to honk the car at Francis in
his vehicle. >> Right. Honk the horn. >> And she's she's honking. Yeah. So, honking as if to tell him to get out of
the way. >> Um, and at some point she pulls out onto the shoulder as if she's going to pass
him in that way. However, she does not pass him. Instead of passing him, she just simply pulls back into the lane.
And once again, she is behind Francis. Now, Francis describes the driving to his wife that's with him. you know, he
says, "Well, this person must be some kind of nut because, you know, she's she's all over the road. She's honking
the horn at me and she's trying to pass using the shoulder. This is some kind of
nut that's behind, >> right?" But, I mean, we I think we all can agree. I mean, people that use their
horn excessively are are crazy people. It's like It's like when you're sitting on a light and it turns green and
somebody starts honking right away, >> right? >> Like, shut up. Okay? Just shut up. Get
up. That's not what the purpose of the horn is for. >> Well, she continues to honk the horn at
at Francis's car. >> Don't be that person. >> And this is as he is pulling off of the
uh off of the throughway there, >> right? >> And they're going to a rest stop. >> Now, this is one of those larger rest
stops, the kind where there's a parking section for the semitrs and parking for regular vehicles. Now Francis and his
wife Jean, they continue straight ahead which leads them to the general parking area. And Diane, who is still behind
them, she now actually pulls off into the truck parking area. Uh this is where Jean sees Diane open up the door to the
van and she gets Diane gets out of the van and she says that Diane was possibly getting sick, you know, maybe possibly
throwing up. Um, Jean sees Diane kind of hunched over in in a manner that would elude that she's probably getting sick
on the side of the road, >> physically ill. And and so then the whole thing is that they go into the
rest stop. And then when they come out, they're thinking, you know, well, maybe we're going to see her and then maybe
we'll confront her. At this point, they don't really, they're not very sure that
there's children in the vehicle, >> right? Because all they see is Diane. And as the captain said, um, you know,
Francis and Jean say that they did not see Diane or see the driver or the vehicle again because, uh, Francis had
every intention of confronting the driver, you know, and and saying, "Hey, maybe back it off a little bit, you
know." >> Yeah. Or stop being an [ __ ] >> Yeah. Right. >> But he doesn't have that opportunity.
Uh, at 12:55 p.m., uh, this is where we start seeing some more activity with Dian's phone. There is a wrong number
that is called uh and dialed from Diane's phone. >> Mhm. >> Um shortly after that, this puts us at
10:01 p.m. >> You know, they they kind of don't go over this point, but to me, I wonder,
you know, one, is it one of those phones where you just like dial the numbers and
then once you get to a certain number, it just dials? Maybe maybe it's a pocket dial,
>> you know what I mean? Or was it like an area code that somewhat made sense? >> Yeah. Or or is it she's misdialing the
phone because she's getting sick and I mean getting sick is no easy thing. I mean like you can't really do a whole
lot of other things when when you're going through that. >> Yeah. Especially if it's vomiting.
>> Yeah. >> You know. >> Yeah. And so at 10:01 p.m. Diane calls uh Warren Hance. Now remember this is
Diane's brother. And on this call, Diane um as described as Warren, >> he says that she sounds disheveled,
almost incoherent at times. >> Uh and she even calls her brother Warren. She calls him Daniel, which of
course is Diane's husband's name. >> Um Warren is concerned because he can hear the kids in the background and they
sound like they are crying and he is getting extremely worried about the children and his sister. Uh, so he tells
her, "You know what, Diane? It sounds like you got something going on here. Why don't you stay put and I will come
up there and I will go and get you and I will get the kids." It's also around this time that the oldest niece, um,
remember this is 8-year-old Emma. Uh, she is on the phone with her parents and she is saying that there is something
wrong with Aunt Diane. um and that you know so she's on the phone with either her father or mother or both and she's
telling them a few different things um that that Aunt Diane can't see and that there's something wrong with Aunt Diane.
Now remember Warren had just shortly got off the phone with Diane stating stay where you are.
>> You know I'm going to come and get you and get the kids. >> Well let's get back to this timeline
right after this quick break and we're back >> and where we left off. We had just
talked about these phone calls that are happening. Okay, so we have the the call
with Emma. She's the oldest girl. She's only 8 years old. She's in the Ford WinStar van with Diane who's driving and
she's called her parents to say that there's something wrong with Aunt Diane that uh she can't see and it sounds like
they're in need of help here. Yeah. >> Now, Diane was on the phone with Warren, her brother, and this is the phone call
where Warren says that she sounded incoherent and that she's calling him by the wrong name.
>> Yeah. >> And he can hear the children crying in the background. And this phone call only
takes place for about two to two and a half minutes, and it ends pretty abruptly here. Um, at 1:10 p.m., someone
dials three wrong numbers from Dian's phone. We had already seen the call take place earlier where a wrong number was
dialed from her phone. Now we're seeing three. This is happening three times now
shortly after 1:00. >> Mhm. >> At 1:15, Warren is trying to reach his sister. He's calling her back. Uh but
>> think about this panic state. >> Yeah. I mean, your your sister, which we we h from all the accounts in the
documentary, it seems like, you know, pretty normal mother, pretty normal person. Uh, and now you're trying to get
a hold of her and she's, you know, talking gibberish on your last call and now you're trying to get a hold of her
and it's mainly going to straight to voicemail. >> Mhm. Yeah. and and like you said, not
only pretty normal person, but we had said driven, you know, and we're seeing a a situation where her and her husband
don't work the same hours. And so, she's probably the mom that's putting in the more time and carrying the heavy load of
being a mother and the parent and taking care of the kids while he's working nights. And not only that, she must be a
a good parent because >> who would let their three daughters go with her on a weekend camping trip if
she wasn't, you know? So, this is this is something that's of a surprise to Warren and and like you said, the panic
here. You don't you're on the other end of the phone and you don't know what's going on. You have no control over
what's happening on the other end >> and you're only getting information from uh your daughter who's very young that
doesn't really know what's going on and from your your sister who is not making any sense to you. You have the situation
where you're concerned about what's going on, yet you you have no control over it and your children are there and
and danger. >> Yeah. And at 1:15 p.m., as we said, Warren's trying to reach his sister and
this phone call just goes straight to her voicemail. Uh by this time, Diane has made it just past the Tapenzee
Bridge toll area, and there is a little pulloff section there where you can pull
your car off. And she must have pulled off there because later someone would find Dian's cell phone on one of those
like waist high barrier divider type things. Uh she had placed her phone on top of that barrier when while pulled
over. It is also thought that she may have been getting sick again at this time. Uh to this point her route her
route is just really what you would expect her to take. You know the route from the campground to her home. Um, and
that that's what's strange here to me because here she is in route going from the campgrounds to her home and it's
it's taking a considerable amount of time again. >> Well, right. But we have her stopping at
the rest stop now. She's stopping at the shoulder, >> but but to our knowledge, she's not lost
or she's not taking a wrong turn or anything like that. She is following the route uh pretty well here. But it's at
about this time that Diane would veer off of that route. Authorities are not quite sure what route Diane would have
taken to get to the Taconic State Parkway area as there are several options for this, but by this time she
is now nearing the Taconic State Parkway area and she is no longer in route to her home. After these strange phone
calls and Diane and the kids are being gone much longer than expected, Diane's brother James and her and Diane's
husband Daniel, they are not they are now out driving and they are going to go out looking for Diane. Now Diane is seen
driving on an exit ramp. Now this is where cars are trying to exit the state parkway and she is basically using the
exit ramp to enter the state parkway. Peter and Elaine Royal are driving that day. They're exit attempting to exit off
of the state park parkway and they encounter Diane who is driving right at them almost like they're not even there
like she doesn't see them at all. Now Peter who is driving, he starts flashing his lights and hitting the car horn and
trying to to let the other vehicle know, you know, you're in our way. We're we're
trying to get off of this ramp here and you're going the wrong way. And basically, she keeps going straight at
them, directly at them, and they are forced off the road and into the grass just to avoid a collision. Peter and
Elaine then see Dian's vehicle go around the bend and onto the Taconic State Parkway.
>> So now Diane has the vehicle, the van with the children in the vehicle, and she's heading south in the northbound
lane. And now we're going to start getting a bunch of phone calls to 911 claiming, "Hey, some some lunatic is out
here driving the wrong way on the freeway." >> Yeah. And some of those calls, they're
going to report her the vehicle traveling at about 70 mph. Um, going the wrong way. And so, let's think about
this. Diane is she drives 1.7 miles the wrong way in the fast lane, mind you. So, she is only on the Parkway for less
than 2 minutes traveling at that speed. >> Mhm. >> She hits a vehicle. The Ford Winstar van
hits a vehicle. And this vehicle is like a gray Chevy Trailblazer type vehicle. And um inside that vehicle, there are
three men in there. Um Guy Bastardi, he's 49 years old, Michael Bastardi, who's 81, and Daniel Longo, who's 74.
>> They It's a head-on collision, >> you know. So if they are both if she's going 70 mph, we could assume that the
other vehicle is probably traveling about that same rate of speed. >> So they're both traveling and they hit
each other headon. And so that's that's two vehicles hitting one another at 140 m hour.
>> Now Guy Pastard's vehicle then hits a third vehicle. Dian's van then travels off the road down the hill and it begins
to burn. The van is by the time that that people can reach this van to try to assist, the van is like fully engulfed
in flames. The front of the vehicle is fully engulfed in flames. >> Yeah. >> And there are two gentlemen. These let's
let's tag them good Samaritans. Um they are going to try to save Diane and the kids and they are attempting to pull the
driver and the passengers from the burning vehicle. Now they do have some trouble with this. You know, these doors
aren't going to open very easily. this if anybody's seen a picture of this vehicle. It was in terrible condition
>> and but they are able to somehow get the driver out who is Diane and her body
pretty much just it just kind of like falls out of the vehicle you know and it's not she's not showing any signs of
life at all. Now, the kids are in another portion of the vehicle, and the way that these two gentlemen describe it
is that they're kind of just like piled up on one another, and they are going to
start pulling the children from the vehicle and checking their vital signs. And as they're doing so, the men are
realizing that the um just like the driver, that the child passengers seem to be dead as well. They're not
responding to anything. Uh when the men get to the bottom of the pile, they find
the body of a little boy. Uh but he is actually still alive, thank God, and he's fighting for his life. Uh the men
then check the other vehicles. They they go over to the gray trailblazer. And this is where they find Guy Bastardi,
Michael Bastardi, and Daniel Longo. They find those three gentlemen, and they are
all deceased at this point. Also on that day, uh along with the the three gentlemen that were in the great
trailblazer, we also have Diane Scheler, the driver of the van. She was 36. She passed away that day, as well as her
daughter Aaron, and her three nieces, which are Kate, Allison, and Emma. So, we have this horrific scene. We have uh
eight dead. It seems like they're eight dead at the scene. We now have all these weird events that
happened prior to this. We have all the eyewitnesses accounts of uh Diane driving on the wrong side of the road
and now it becomes well what happened. We we need answers for this. >> Yeah. We need to figure out why there
are eight people who have lost their lives. We have we have one sole survivor uh which is Brian which is Dian's son.
uh he suffered several broken bones and a severe head uh injury and trauma and he ends up remaining uh he's in the
hospital for over two months. >> Uh he like I said he's he sustained a serious head injury in the crash and as
a result he suffers from uh nerve pulsy in his eye uh which affects the movement
in his right eye. Uh and of course he's undergone surgeries and stuff like that to try to help him recover from that
injury. But but as said, we need to figure out why. Okay. Why was Diane driving like this? Why was she going the
wrong way on on a road she had probably been on several times before? Yes, she is driving a vehicle that may be strange
to her, right? >> Um you know, you ever notice that when you when you borrow somebody's car, you
don't really know how to turn on the windshield wipers or you know, maybe you accidentally turn on the lights instead
of the windshield wipers. Yeah, but you're not going to drive the wrong way on a freeway because you're baring a
car, >> right? >> Um, and my, you know, my initial thought on all this is, you know, some kind of
stroke, >> you know, that's what it seems like to me. Maybe, uh, you know, uh, with with
the children, you know, claiming that she's having a hard time seeing um, and she seems disoriented on on some level.
So, is it a stroke? Is it oncoming heart attack? But the but what's so strange for me is why does she keep driving? Why
doesn't she stop? >> Yeah. >> And maybe and then when we talk about when she goes onto this different path
because I don't know the area. Is she trying to reach somebody and was it that she felt bad and felt sick and and
thought well I'm just going to try to get home and then at some point it's like I can't get home and it's that
fight orflight mentality and it's now I'm going to just try to get help. I'm going to try to go to the hospital or
something. >> Mhm. >> Uh but but if it's a stroke maybe and again I'm not a doctor or a nurse. I'm a
captain. Okay. I know about boats. That's about it. But you know, is she so disillusional from this on onset of a
stroke? But wouldn't we be able to see that in the medical records? >> Yeah. Well, and they, you know, and the
other thing, too, is why did this trip that that should have taken about 35 minutes, you know, plus some time for
stopping off, but we're talking 4 hours. The crash took place at 1:35 p.m. They left at 9:30. You know, this is 4 hours
has elapsed here. >> Um, so let me introduce the the attorney that um that the family, the Scheler
family would be working with after the accident. Uh, his name is Dominic Barber and um he some people might know him
from the Howard Stern show. He used to be I don't I don't know if he was friends with Howard Stern or if he was a
friend of the show, but he used to be on there from time to time. He's kind of a
>> uh let's say lawyer to some some some stars, maybe some entertainers. Um but uh he he would come out very shortly
afterwards with a press conference and him and Daniel um Diane's husband are going to say that we don't understand
what happened because in the in the autopsy that followed they they did an autopsy this the day after the crash.
>> Yeah. >> And it was pretty quickly determined that she had some things in her system
that that you know she had alcohol in her system, she had THC in her system. So, she had a blood alcohol level of
0.9, which is roughly about 10 drinks. Now, I don't know if that's 10 beers or 10 shots. Uh, there was uh vodka, a
bottle of vodka found in the van. So, one could assume that if she was drinking, that's what she was drinking.
N. And then she was also found with some uh THC >> in her system as well. >> It's.19.19.
Okay. >> Yeah. 0.9. she would have expired a long time before but uh so blood blood
alcohol content for her was.19 um and she also tested high for a high level of THC and as the captain said
we're talking about to get to that level it's approximately you know you got to factor in weight and all these other
things but once you figure that out it factors in that she probably had about 10 drinks 10 alcoholic drinks
>> well I'm I'm operating at 0.9 all the time Well, we all know from health class, but you know, let's review real
quick what that alcohol level means for most or all of us. So, 06 to 0.10%. Uh what you will experience is reduced
information processing, uh impaired reflexes, impaired depth perception, okay? The inability to judge distances,
uh your peripheral vision and speed control, all those things are going to be impaired. Uh now once you get a
little bit higher from 0.11 to 0.20% uh you have everything that we just talked about plus your reaction time is
now severely impaired. Your motor control is severely impaired and you are probably staggering or and experiencing
slurred speech. Now 3 to 39 it is likely that you will die at that level. So she's at.19.
That should give you an idea of the level of intoxification that she had. Now that we mentioned the THC on top of
that, keep in mind that alcohol increases the absorption of THC, meaning that it can enhance it. So they believe
due to the high THC levels that she would have smoked marijuana or ingested marijuana sometime between 15 minutes to
1 hour before the crash took place. >> Yeah. And I mean this is all confusing to me because again I mean the husband
is saying yeah okay well she would smoke pot occasionally and uh she would drink occasionally so
this is very abnormal and again I don't know m maybe she had a migraine or something. Maybe she's trying to
self-medicate. It's kind of a very strange thing to be driving kids and trying to
self-medicate. She doesn't seem to be that type of person. >> Well, there the family's attorney as
well as the husband would say that Diane is not an alcoholic. She was not an alcoholic. She rarely had a drink.
>> Um they both claimed that Diane's erratic driving was due to a medical issue. They believe she may have
suffered a stroke, >> right? Uh they also have stated that Diane suffered from diabetes but this is
rumored to have been just uh gestational u diabetes which is like a temporary condition. It's not you know chronic
condition uh >> well you know I'm just going to go off on a on rant for a minute. I had a
really good friend of mine guy that was in good shape um played at gigs with him. He he would drive down from
Cleveland and he um was not diagnosed with diabetes and he was driving home and pretty much was hallucinating
for I I again I'm not a freaking doctor so don't don't judge me. Um but he was driving home and basically like
hallucinating. He didn't have any clue of what's happening. pretty much was blacking out and then he pulls over on
the side of the road or almost wrecks and a 2-hour drive. It took him um hours and hours and hours to get home.
>> Mhm. >> Same type of situation. Now, he didn't go, you know, on to head-on traffic or
anything. But then because of that incident, they were he was checked out and then he was diagnosed with diabetes.
M >> so that you know was her condition getting worse and and on on another onset.
>> Yeah. But the you know we have the autopsy that's conducted just the day after the crash.
>> Right. >> Okay. >> And that's red flags everywhere. >> Yeah. And and the family and the
attorney are bringing up all these possible health issues or a health reason being the cause for her driving
that day. Mhm. >> Uh they even bring up a tooth absence that she had uh for about 7 weeks prior
to her death. Um apparently this was something that was going untreated. Um but in the in the actual autopsy they
specifically state that the medical examiner found that she had not suffered that Diane had not suffered from a
stroke, an aneurysm or a heart attack. Right? >> So those three things are ruled out
right there. And the what the glaring red flags are here is the alcohol level as well as the THC levels.
>> Well, and what's confusing is is there's a part of you that just doesn't want to
believe that this autopsy is real. >> You know what I mean? Like they they make these claims and then maybe they're
just wrong. >> Mhm. >> Or or maybe they got mixed up somehow. You know, this paperwork got shuffled
with this paperwork. Wrong name, you know, different different autopsy. I you know the that
is a possibility. The likelihood of that I would say is pretty slim to none, >> right? And then we have the finding of
the vodka bottle, >> right? Which the husband claims, you know, yeah, we have a vodka bottle and
it's in the camper and, you know, we'd go out and, you know, at night when the kids go to sleep, we might have a couple
drinks. That's pretty normal. >> Mhm. >> Uh he thought it was odd that it was in
the van. >> Yeah. So, here's a little clip of the husband being interviewed by Larry King
talking about this vodka bottle. >> Daniel, how do you explain the vodka? >> We usually will keep it in our camper
throughout the whole season. >> One bottle. >> Why? Why? >> You know, you have pinina coladas. You
>> sit by a campfire cooking marshmallows. >> What was the vodka bottle doing in a
car? My wife packed all the bags that day in the camper and leaves them by the door. I carry them from the camper to
the trucks. I'm very surprised that the vodka bottle was in there. I had no idea.
>> I don't know. >> Does it give you Does it give you pause to think that maybe, just maybe, she was
a drinker and you didn't know it? >> I've been for 13 years. Absolutely not. >> Daniel, why appear here? Why keep on
doing this? The truth, the truth will come out. >> Well, Larry, you have to understand
Danny doesn't want the other families to think that a drunk driver killed their families. That's why we are out to prove
that she try to prove that she wasn't drunk. >> So, basically, we have this autopsy
saying that she had this high blood alcohol level and that she also had some weed in her system.
>> And now we have this husband saying, "Okay, again, we're gonna try to This is
not true." So again, so maybe there's that possibility that the autopsy is just they messed up somehow, did the
wrong autopsy on the wrong person. The likelihood of that doesn't seem like much. And then in the documentary, you
see a psychologist talk about sometimes when a tragic event happens that people go on the other side of the spectrum. So
all this bad thing happened, now they're dead and now we don't think anything bad
of them and we go to saintthood, right? So she was a saint. She was this great mother and maybe there was some things
that were going on in her life and the husband didn't know. >> Mhm. >> And and that's a good possibility. And
then if with this abs tooth, anybody that's had a root canal or needed a root canal, that is one of the most painful
things that you can go through. And maybe it was only for a couple weeks and she's now driving home and she's in a
bunch of pain and for some reason she oh well if I take a couple shots maybe that
helps. I mean that doesn't make a lot of sense but I don't know how much pain she
was in. I mean we know that she stopped to get some kind of Advil or something but it's you know it doesn't line much
of this doesn't line up. >> But that also brings up a good point here. Could she have been a could she
have been a functioning alcoholic without her husband knowing? You know, is he is he just going on the forefront
here and and taking one for the team and standing up for her, covering up her, you know, things her her bad things for
her now that she's gone or or did he not even know, you know? Um >> well, and like we talked about before,
they worked opposite schedules, so it is possible. I and I agree with that statement because and I'll tell you
what, here's the thing too. For for alcoholics that are hiding their alcoholism, vodka can be the the choice
alcohol, >> right? Because Right. And you normally don't smell it. And so you go through
>> it's clear, you don't smell it. It's something that you can kind of put in everything else that you drink.
>> Um, you know, I I have firsthand um experience with a >> alcoholism. >> Well, no, with a person that that was
hiding their alcoholism. >> Uhhuh. Uh, and now thank God this person is in great health and has fully
recovered and no longer drinks. But for years this guy, he he drank and he hid it from his family. And he used to what
he would do is vodka was his choice as well because not because he loved vodka, but because he could hide it easily from
the family. And you know, he would go outside to take a smoke break and he would keep a bottle of gar hidden in the
garage or outside somewhere. He'd go outside and smoke a cigarette and chug a little bit of vodka each time. Well,
they only caught on to this because eventually he started falling over and uh having some some health problems and
but he was able to hide this from them for years. >> Well, my big question is is this the is
this the vodka bottle from the camper? >> Right? >> You know, because the family is not
going to come out and go, "Well, you know what? We looked in the camper and guess what? We saw a bottle of vodka."
Because that to me, if there's still a bottle of vodka in the camper and there was one in the van, and we'll never know
that because they do have an agenda. I mean, they say so at the end of that clip, we're we're coming out. We're
trying to prove we're going to prove that she was having a stroke or something and she was an alcoholic or
she didn't have a drug problem. And again, maybe that drug problem wasn't, you know,
>> uh, you know, her mother left her. I don't know why her mom left her. Maybe her mother had a drinking problem. who
knows? And she didn't talk about it. And this husband didn't, you know, bring it
up and didn't pry into this, which, you know, whatever. I think you should know your wife a little bit better than that.
But, uh, but maybe her mom had some drinking problems. Who knows? But that's a very good possibility.
>> There's also a possibility that this bottle of vodka had nothing to do with a
bottle that was in the camper. Maybe there wasn't even a bottle in the camper. Maybe this bottle could have
just been something she kept stashed away on her on in her own belongings or in the vehicle that she was driving that
it was in fact something that she was hiding from everybody. >> Right now the other question is the
weed. We have alcohol that was found in her system uh.19 and then now we have this this weed
which would be more potent because she was drinking is what the uh coroner was saying. So, this is the husband's uh
answer about the weed. >> On a rare occasion, she would, but definitely not that weekend. Absolutely
not. >> Was it something she used to relax? Was it something she used for stress? Was it
something she used for >> on an occasion or on an occasion to relax? >> That's all not true. Everything you hear
is not true. >> When did she use marijuana? She used it when she was at work. She used it.
>> No. No. It was, I think, mostly to be able to get a good night's sleep. I think it was after everything was
done. Clothes were ironing, laundry's done, kids are in bed, books are read, everything was done, and maybe she'd
have some before she went to sleep. It wasn't like you'd ever think she, you know, you never look at her and think
she smoked pot, but some people do. >> Did she ever discuss it with you like why she took it or what was the
>> No, I just knew that she smoked. Okay, somebody please tell me what a weed person looks like cuz that's what I
hear in the interview. She I mean if you looked at her, she didn't if you looked
at her, she didn't look like somebody that smoked the weed. What does a weed person look like? Okay, first of all,
and then the husband, this is what drives me nuts is the husband says occasionally occasionally occasionally
she would smoke the pot. Occasionally she knew that and but she didn't look like a weed person, right? Okay. And
then at the end of the interview that lady is saying, "Well, but I knew she smoked pot." So she obviously smoked
enough pot that this person was well aware of it. More aware of it than it seems like the husband was.
>> Yeah. >> Again, I think this is the sanctum thing. Uh she never would have done
this. >> Well, the here's here's a couple things that I noticed about that clip in
particular. Okay. There was more telling things about that of the THC clip than the alcohol clip for me. And here's the
two things that pointed out. One is what I didn't hear in the clip. Okay. When when I read the report, the medical
examiner's report that says to have a THC level that that was that high, she must have consumed the marijuana within
15 minutes to an hour before the crash. Well, that puts her in the company of four children. Yeah.
>> What I did not hear in that clip was her husband saying, "Yeah, she smoked pot,
but she would have never have done it around the children." I didn't hear that in the clip because my first thought is,
you know, we we all know people that smoke some weed, you know, but >> but but here's the thing. Do we do we
know people do I know people that smoke weed around their children? No. Because I wouldn't be friends with those people.
You know what I mean? That would be the first like big red flag to me saying these are small children. These are
small children. And I don't know how the editor cut up this sound bite or took his interview and and cut it up. But
>> the thing is I wanted to hear that in that clip. I wanted to hear that she would have never done that in front of
the children because you spend the whole documentary telling me what a good mother and what a good wife and a good
person she was. >> However, I did not hear she would have never have done that in front of the
children. Now, what I did hear in that clip was the sister-in-law stating that, well, yeah, she smoked it sometimes to
get a good night's sleep. Well, that was a red flag to me, too. Why? Because of something you and I had discussed
earlier. We had said Daniel says his wife is not an alcoholic. Daniel says that his wife only smokes weed
occasionally. Daniel is at work four or five, maybe six nights a week at nighttime when she is done with her
workday, when she is done taking care of the children. Who knows, right? Who knows? Could she perceiv could she have
been smoking pot and drinking every night after she put the young children to bed and black out or have some
horrible alcoholism problem or addiction problems that he was unaware of? >> I think it's possible because of their
separate schedules. >> Well, and also, I mean, he's he's a man, you know, he's How much is he paying
attention to his wife? I don't know. I'm just gonna assume not a lot, right? You
know, but I mean that's just where I'm going with >> and uh it's but no, but I think we throw
people under the bus. Like I mean people drink around their kids and we don't shame them super hard, you know. I think
uh yeah, I'm not saying that you should be, you know, passing a joint around when your kids are in the room, but um
but no, I Yeah, this is just very odd. Now among after hiring the attorney, the family would then hire a private
investigator or investigative firm to to kind of they want to discredit the autopsy findings and they want to bring
to light that they that their mom and their wife was not an alcoholic. She was not drunk. She was not high when this
crash happened. That this was a medical there was some kind of medical reason for this crash,
>> right? Which makes a lot of logical sense. I mean, like I said, I mean, the thing about the diabetes or a stroke or
something of that nature, and I'm not faulting the husband because if the husband is not aware of this stuff, then
how how can he address the problem? And so, this could essentially be the first time that he's actually hearing about
this being a problem. And and what he's going off is if he loves this person and
obviously loved his kids and one of his kids died in it and the other kid, you know, went through uh you know, all
these surgeries and and almost didn't make it and then his three nieces died in this.
>> Mhm. >> So, I'm I'm not faulting him for going, "Well, what what the [ __ ] happened?"
Right? And and if it is the first time of him learning about any of this, then his first reaction is going to be going,
I can't believe it. >> I can't believe it. It's just like when somebody, you know, is married and their
spouse is living a separate life. Maybe for a year, maybe for a couple years, and when it all comes out in the wash,
they can't believe it because they didn't see it coming. And maybe that is what's happening here. It's just with a
addiction problem. Yeah. Yeah. And and but there's also that level of denial too amongst the survivors. Um but back
to the private investigator, the the the Scheler family, they hired uh Tom Ruskin
and his investigative firm. Um they end up complaining quite a bit about um about this investigative firm and Tom
Ruskin. Uh they really don't think that he did anything other than take their money.
>> Obviously, the family wants answers, right? But this is seems like it's very spearheaded by J. Scheler, the other
aunt, the sister-in-law of Daniel. And so when they get this lawyer involved and they get this investigator involved,
the investigator starts asking for $10,000, $15,000, and she has to get the other family members involved to in
order to pay for this. >> Yeah. I think he ends up charging them close to $30,000 in the end,
>> right? And what did he do? I I'm not really for sure. And this guy just seems
kind of like a scumbag because in the documentary when the when the film is the filmmakers are trying to get him to
do an interview, it's just not worth our time. Uh $25,000. $25,000 to be on a on
a documentary. Like documentaries don't make any money. They don't have any docu, you know, Ken Burns is not some,
you know, billionaire. >> I'll do a documentary for 1,500 bucks. >> I'll do one for 50 bucks in a case of
beer. I agree with you, Captain. When when they play that part where Tom Ruskin's on the phone with the
documentarian and being asked if he would be, you know, present the story or his findings to the documentary
>> and he and he gives that answer of, well, they want 20 or $25,000 to be on the documentary. That was a very
slimeball answer in my opinion. I understand that you want to get paid for your time and that you are running a
business, but but you've already been paid by the family. you know, this benefits the family. Uh, you were paid
to release your findings to the family. Um, so it was a very slimeball answer in
my opinion. Now, he would go on to state that the investigation included interviewing Dian's family and friends,
canvasing the campground in the driving route for leads and obtaining the video footage from the Senoko station. And
according to Tom Ruskin, all monies were spent on those activities as well as additional lab tests. Now, I will say
those lab tests are not cheap, first of all. And second of all, to his credit, they did find his investigative firm
found the surveillance footage at the Senokco. That that was not something that that was presented by anybody else.
>> Yeah. I mean, a slime ball answer, but at the end of the day, who knows? I mean, there's three sides to every
story, right? his side, their side, and the truth. And it could be just that, you know, J. Schuler or whoever hounded
him so much and maybe was so rude to him that they were he just thought, you know
what? I I I the I did a bunch of work. You don't think I did? I was paid for that work and now you're asking me for
more stuff and I'm just done with this all. Well, and the results of those additional lab tests that they conducted
were the same results that the medical examiner's office came up with originally. So I here you run into a
problem of okay, I work for you. You've paid me x amount of dollars to help you get to the truth of this matter.
Unfortunately, the conclusion I came to is what we already knew was the truth has not changed in my opinion. And so
I'm now telling you something that you don't want to hear. So, you're dissatisfied with my investigation
because it didn't have the outcome or the results that you were looking for >> that you wanted. Or is this guy such a
slime ball that he charges them for these tests and never has new tests done? >> I mean, I don't know. I mean, I I
couldn't find any evidence of that, but I wouldn't put, you know, if he is a slime ball, I want to put that past a
slime ball. >> Right. Right. I do want to point out that it has been reported that Daniel
accepted a an offer. you know, they did this documentary uh and that he accepted
accepted an offer for $100,000 uh from that film company to do what would end up being the HBO documentary.
Uh this was back in 2010. Um now I don't I'm not going to fault Daniel for this at all.
>> No, he's a single father now. He's a single father and he I I do believe that
there's a part of him that believes that there's more truth out there and that he
didn't have the ability to do that on his own. Uh and I think he thought maybe this documentary would give him the
answers he was looking for. I think what ends up happening is he gets the gets reminded of the answers he didn't want
to hear in the first place. But I don't fault him for taking the money because as you said, he's a single father there.
There's an investigative firm to pay that that that cost you almost $30,000. >> Well, and there's all kind there's
there's surgeries for your son. >> Right. Right. >> And on top of that, there's going to be
lawsuits that uh are going to end up being filed. You know, in uh December of 2010, the Bastardi family filed a
lawsuit against Diane Scheler and against her brother Warren Hance, who now he was the owner of the vehicle,
right? And now some people if you you know if you're involved in uh civil uh suits and things like that you you will
know that any good attorney will tell you that if if if I'm walking down the street and the lamp post falls on me.
Well, I don't just sue I don't just sue the person that that owned the house that owned the lamp post. I I'm to sue
the homeowner. I'm to sue uh I'm to sue the manufacturer of the lamp post. uh maybe even the manufacturer of the light
bulb. Um they will reach out and they will sue everybody because you're you know you're hoping to get rewarded some
money outside of court or that that these other proceedings will enhance u right but you are you're suing the
father of these three young uh girls. >> Yeah. You're suing her estate. Um >> Yes.
>> And you know it it's rough I think to sue the the Yeah. brother. That's what I'm talking about.
The estate fine, but you're suing the brother that just lost his three daughters. And to me, that's that's
wrong. >> In July of 2011, um Jackie Hance, she filed a lawsuit uh against her brother-in-law, Daniel Scheler. Um this
would be the mother of the three nieces. Um, so we we have all kinds of legal proceedings that need to take place and
lawsuits that uh need to be dealt with. Um, you know, there's really there's really
nothing good that can come of this. Um, there's I don't think that anybody's going to get the answers that they want.
I think at the end of the day, she was intoxicated. She was high. Um, can I prove that? No. Other than other than
the toxicology test, >> I mean, you can the autopsy. No, that's that's the proof.
>> What I mean is I can't I can't say she was drinking vodka in the van. I can't
say that she was smoking a joint in front of the kids. I can't say any of that because we don't know that for
certain, but we have the lab test. >> Well, and will the son ever remember? >> Yeah.
>> You know, the son might one day say, "No, I do remember her her drinking." Who knows?
>> Yeah. the the only real statement that they've passed along that he seems to say when they've pushed him for answers
as to what had happened was that he said something to the nature that she had hurt her head or that uh she could she
was having trouble seeing which was reported by one of the nieces on the phone as well. I think what we have
here, Captain, is we have four hours that that passed and we have a lot of that time that's not accounted for. And
I think that during that time is when she was consuming alcohol and when she was consuming marijuana. Now, according
to the documentary, she's a very good mom. She's a very good person. She's a very good wife. I believe all three of
those things. I've seen pictures of these children. None of them appeared to be malnourished or abused or not taken
care of appropriately. I think all that was going on. I think she was a hard worker. I think she was a good mom. She
was a good wife. Just not on that day. >> Not that day she wasn't. And I I apologize, but that's that's what I see
here. >> Yeah. And I think the only, you know, if there was some weird medical thing that
was happening and that caused the drinking or that caused the smoking, I And again, I'm I'm not a doctor, so I I
I don't there doesn't make any logical sense to get to that point. At the end of the day, this is this horrible tragic
thing and uh these children lost their lives. The you know the the mother lost their life. Um
>> the three innocent men >> the three innocent men and the you know wrong place at the wrong time. I mean
that's uh could you imagine you know what their families are going through? It's just overall this sad tragic event.
Um, and my hearts go out for everybody that's involved. And, uh, hopefully, again, I went to say hopefully there's
answers, but I I don't think it matters, you know, like I I don't think it matters if she was a drunk driver or if
it was a a medical thing. You know, maybe it matters as far as like a civil lawsuit and all that stuff,
>> but I it doesn't bring back these these individuals. I was pleased to see at the
end of the documentary they were talking about Brian. Brian is the little boy that survived the crash. Uh I was happy
to see that he apparently is receiving counseling and that he's going to some form of counseling. I hope that they see
that through because here's the thing, man. Uh Warren and Jackie, um I hope I got their names right. The but the the
mother and father of of the three nieces, >> right? Uh they lost all three. They lost
their all their children that day. Yeah. >> And and I don't know, you know, I'm a
big advocate, you are as well, for counseling and for seeking out help and talking about things and and working
through things. I don't know that there's any any way through that. >> I mean, the the pain of losing a child
is uh something that people, you know, unless you've gone through it yourself, you have no idea of of what you have to
deal with mentally. and and there they lost all of them that day. I don't know that there was any getting through that.
Um now, but the thing is here, Brian, yes, he lost his mother. Yes, he lost his sister,
>> but he's at a young enough age that with the right amount of counseling, with the
right help, this doesn't have to ruin his life as well, that that he he may be able to recover from this and live a
normal life. Um, and you know, >> and then Well, here's the thing. Would I recommend watching the documentary? Uh,
it's it's depressing. >> It's a Debbie Downer. >> It's it's more than a Debbie Downer. I
mean, it's horribly depressing. Um, was it a crime? Yes, there was a crime involved. There's homicides, vehicular
homicide, but it is a crime. Uh, this, like we said, this was suggested by the listeners uh in overwhelming amounts.
And uh so I blame you guys for uh suggesting it and making uh me super sad that day. So thanks a lot for that.
>> Well, and and to to kind of underline was this a crime or not? Uh, I can read you the statement
from the medical examiner. Um, you know, according to the Westchester Medical Examiner, the crash was quickly ruled a
homicide because of all of the victims were killed due to Dian's driving, regardless of toxicology findings. In
August 18, 2009, this is this is less than a month after the crash. The Westchester District Attorney said no
charges will be filed in the incident as Diane Scheler was the only person responsible and Diane Scheler died in
the crash and the charges died that day with her. >> Right. Again, it's an interesting um
it's an interesting documentary, but I don't think that outweighs um the horrific nature and the horrific tragedy
as with with the innocent men losing their lives and and these innocent children as well. All right, I'm
officially depressed. Do we have any recommended reading this week? >> Uh this week I would like to recommend
Blood Stains by Jeff Mudget. >> Well, this sounds like a happy book. Well, this this might take your mind
elsewhere because this is based on a true story. Well, you say, "Well, that's weird for True Crime Garage to recommend
a based on a true story book." But there are some this is a very good story and and when I get into it here in a second,
you'll realize why. But he says because there are some things and worried about some people coming after him that it was
listed as fiction. But to him, it's a true story. So you have to read this and figure out if you believe his story or
not. And what is this story about? So according to this book, Jeff Mudget is the great greatgrandson of Herman
Webster Mudget, who is better known to you and I as Dr. HH Holmes. And in Jeff Mudget's book, Bloodstains, Jeff says
that he has some insider knowledge that HH Holmes lived longer than anyone thinks. that HH Holmes was not put to
death and that he was actually involved in the Jack the Ripper case as well. >> Wow.
>> This is a must readad in my opinion for those of you that want to find out more
about HH Holmes. You know, we recommended uh The Devil in the White City uh months ago, which is another HH
Holmes book. Uh but this one is quite different and I wouldn't say that this is a must-read for Jack the Ripper
readers as this story really has little to do with the Ripper. But if you are like me and if you've heard one ripper
theory, you want to hear them all. >> And this is a great time to dive into H8 Home Holmes with the new movie coming
out with Leonardo DiCaprio, our buddy. As if we hang out with him. Uh he'll be playing H8 Holmes in a new movie coming
up I think next year. >> Yeah. And I believe that that movie is based off of the book The Devil in the
White City. So, uh, pick up, uh, Blood Stains by Jeff Mudget today, and you can do that by going to our website,
truerimerg.com, and click on the recommended page, and you will see all of our other recommended books, as well
as one of our documentaries that we recommended. And of course, it goes without saying, but we're going to say
it anyway because it's so important. Do not drink and drive, please. Do not smoke and drive. Don't buzz drive. Do
not uh text and drive. You know, I tell you what, that texting and driving is almost as bad, if not worse, than
>> Oh, the worst thing in the world is when you're driving down the road and you see
a car swerving into your lane, oncoming traffic, and you know that son of a [ __ ] is just sending a text.
>> Yeah. >> Put down your damn phone. >> Yeah. And with New Year's Eve coming up,
we know it's a big party night. Make arrangements. Have somebody drop you off. Have somebody pick you up. Call
Uber. Call a taxi cab. Uh, you know, >> call the captain. I'll come pick your ass up. He's going to be picking people
up all night long. So, do not drink and drive. Treat yourself good. Be good to yourself and everybody else out there.
And of course, don't litter. We'll see you next week. [Music]

Diane Schuler ////// Episode: 69

TrueCrimeGarage.com

The Taconic Parkway Crash of 2009 was one of the areas most tragic stories. The fatal three car crash resulted in the deaths of eight people. It was quickly determined that Diane Schuler 36 years of age was responsible for the crash and the homicides of the other 7 innocent victims. An autopsy determined her blood alcohol level to be .19%, that's more than two times the legal limit for the state of New York. Her husband and sister in-law have publicly stated that Diane was not a drinker and this was not a homicide but in fact an accident. Her erratic driving was the result of either a stroke or a health issue. Tonight we examine the Schuler families' statements and take a look at the facts. Why was a seemingly good mother driving under the influence with 5 young children in her vehicle?Don't drink and drive and please stop texting and driving!

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Brief Summary

Diane Schuler's fatal crash on the Taconic Parkway involved erratic driving, alcohol, and THC, resulting in eight deaths and ongoing legal battles.

Key points

Tribute to George Michael. The hosts pay homage to the late singer, sharing their fond memories.
Introducing Diane Schuler's Case. The episode dives into the tragic Taconic Parkway crash involving Diane Schuler.
Erratic Driving Reports. Eyewitnesses report Diane's erratic driving before the crash, raising concerns.
Diane's Erratic Driving. Diane honks excessively and drives erratically, alarming other drivers.
The Crash. Diane drives the wrong way on the freeway, leading to a tragic collision.
Aftermath of the Accident. The horrific scene reveals eight fatalities, including Diane and her children.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

We are quite innovative.

Acknowledging the impact of their show on travel.

2:39WatchAug 5, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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