That's the name of a new documentary on HBO. "There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane" is the story of an unthinkable accident that occurred on the Taconic Parkway in New York after a woman, Diane Schuler, lost control of her minivan carrying her daughter and three nieces, killing them all. Also killed in the tragedy were three men in an oncoming vehicle.
The lone survivor was a little boy, Diane Schuler's own son, who was five at the time.
The story is particularly poignant for several reasons. The first and most obvious reason is that four very young children, aged two to eight, lost their lives that day in July of 2009. Four adults died. Two parents lost ALL of their children in one fell swoop. One father lost both his wife and young daughter that day. But the circumstances surrounding the accident are strange, and to this day, still blurry for some.
By every account that I've read, Diane Schuler was a wonderful person. A family woman, a great mom, a loving aunt and sister-in-law. She was described by Jackie Hance, the mother of the three girls who died in Diane's car, as "the most responsible person I knew."
So why then, did Diane drive the wrong way down an exit ramp and into oncoming traffic on a highway for 1.7 miles before colliding with another car, killing everyone involved? Did she have a stroke? A heart attack? An aneurysm at the wheel?
Toxicology reports showed the Diane Schuler had a blood alcohol content of about twice the legal limit, and a high blood level of what amounts to a whole lot of of pot. In English, Diane Schuler was shown to have had about 10 drinks inside of an hour and smoked a shitload of joints all while having five children in her care.
All on a Sunday drive back from a camping trip on a sunny day in July. With her children and her nieces in the car. All while trailing her husband's truck headed for home after what they described in phone calls as a super fun weekend. All this destruction, by a woman who was known as an upstanding member of her community.
On one hand, it seems unbelievable. How does someone hide such an enormous drinking problem from every single person in her life? Is it possible that there was some strange medical mystery that might have caused or mimicked these results, also causing Schuler to lose her wits behind the wheel?
On the other hand, could toxicology reports lie? Show false positives?
One report I read stated that "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."
The documentary on HBO follows Diane's husband, Daniel, and her sister-in-law, Jay, who have been trying relentlessly to find some reason other than intoxication, for the accident. They had toxicology tests re-run (they came back positive) and are now trying to receive permission to exhume Diane's remains to have them re-examined.
No matter what happened, this is a horrendous story. One that rivals the horrifying story of the Cobles who lost their three children to a car accident, and the unbelievable tragedy of the Petit family in Connecticut, when an entire family, save for one member, was viciously murdered by intruders.
Seven innocent people died on that highway two years ago. And to add insult to injury, the eighth will never be able to tell us what actually happened. I'm not connected to these people in any way and yet even I want an explanation.
As a mother, my heart breaks for the parents who lost their children that day (and any day), and especially for that mom who lost ALL her kids on that highway. You can read her story here.
Makes me want to never let my kids out of my sight, even for just a minute.
