8-Dead In Wrong Way Taconic Crash Driver Diane Schuler Was Drunk

By Jorge Fitz-Gibbons, Shawn Cohen, Aman Ali and Richard Liebson • rliebson@lohud.com • August 4, 2009

BREAKING NEWS — Diane Schuler was "impaired by marijuana" and had a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit when she drove head-on into traffic on the Taconic State Parkway, killing eight people and injuring two others, Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore said this afternoon.

The findings were part of an autopsy toxicology report being conducted on Schuler in the wake of the deadly July 26 crash.

Westchester's chief medical examiner, Dr. Millard Hyland, said this morning that his office ruled the case a homicide last week. He would not confirm the toxicology results or whether those were the basis of the homicide determination. Hyland referred questions to the Westchester District Attorney's Office, which would not comment today.

The findings were shared with relatives of crash victims. The dead included Schuler’s 2-year-old daughter and three young nieces.

State police Lt. Dominick L. Chiumento said he could neither confirm nor deny the reports.

Schuler was returning home to West Babylon from an upstate campground on July 26 when she drove a 2003 Ford Windstar minivan against traffic on the northbound Taconic State Parkway.

State police investigators said Schuler drove for 1.7 miles into on coming traffic before she collided head-one with a Chevrolet Trail Blazer driven by Guy Bastardi of Yonkers. Bastardi, his father, Michael, and family friend Daniel Longo were all killed.

Roseann Guzzo, daughter of Michael Bastardi and sister of Guy Bastardi, said the family got the news from media reports today and then heard from the district attorney's office. She said it answers why the crash happened but forces the family to relive last week's horror.

"This wasn't an act of God. This was her choice. She made the wrong choice," Guzzo said. "This isn't an accident, this is murder."

Also killed were Schuler, her 2-year-old daughter, Erin, and her three nieces, Emma Hance, 8, Alyson Hance, 7, and Kate Hance, 5. Schuler’s 5-year-old son, Bryan, was the only survivor, and is currently recovering at the Westchester Medical Center.

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