Real Crime Stories/Paranormal Hauntings/Conspiracy Theories Book II

The 2009 Taconic State Parkway Crash

The 2009 Taconic State Parkway crash was a traffic collision that occurred shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, 2009, on the Taconic State Parkway in the town of Mount Pleasant, near the village of Briarcliff Manor, New York. Eight people were killed when a minivan being driven by 36-year-old Diane Schuler traveled 1.7 miles in the wrong direction on the parkway and collided head-on with an oncoming SUV. Schuler, her daughter and three nieces, and the three passengers in the oncoming SUV were killed. The crash was the worst fatal motor vehicle accident to occur in Westchester County since July 22, 1934, when a bus accident in Ossining claimed 20 lives.

The ensuing investigation into the crash's cause received nationwide attention. Toxicology tests conducted by the medical examiner revealed that Schuler was heavily intoxicated with both alcohol and marijuana at the time of the crash. Schuler's husband, Daniel, has consistently denied that she used drugs or alcohol "excessively", and has made multiple national media appearances to defend his late wife and call for further investigation into other possible medical causes for her erratic driving. An independent investigator hired by the Schuler family obtained DNA testing and toxicology testing of Schuler's samples, and also confirmed the results of the original testing.

Day of incident

2003 Ford Windstar

At approximately 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 26, 2009, 36-year-old Diane Schuler left the Hunter Lake Campground in Parksville, New York, in a red 2003 Ford Windstar that belonged to her brother. Riding with Schuler were her 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter, and her brother's three daughters (ages 8, 7, and 5). Her husband, Daniel Schuler, left the campground at the same time in a separate vehicle since he had a pickup truck and took the dog with him. A co-owner of the campground later said that Diane Schuler appeared sober when she departed.

On the way to their home in West Babylon, Schuler stopped at a McDonald's fast-food restaurant and a Sunoco gas station in Liberty. While at the gas station, on surveillance video with no sound, it was reported that she attempted to buy over-the-counter pain-relief medication, possibly for a painful tooth, but the gas station did not sell any.

Schuler left Liberty just after 11 a.m., traveling along Route 17/Interstate 86 and the New York Thruway (Interstate 87), entering the Ramapo-Sloatsburg service area, and crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge, heading east. Several witnesses later reported seeing a red minivan driving aggressively on Route 17/Interstate 86 and Interstate 87, including aggressively tailgating, flashing headlights, honking the horn, moving in and out of lanes, and straddling two lanes. At 11:37 a.m., Schuler called Warren Hance, her brother, and father of her three nieces, from the van. She reportedly told him that they were being delayed by traffic. According to a police report, Schuler was seen by witnesses at approximately 11:45 a.m. by the side of the road with her hands on her knees, as if vomiting; she was seen again in the same position a short time later, north of the Ramapo-Sloatsburg rest stop.

2004 Chevrolet TrailBlazer

At about 1 p.m., another call was made to Hance from Schuler's cell phone. During this call, one of Schuler's nieces reportedly told her father that Schuler was having trouble seeing and speaking clearly. Schuler herself then talked to Hance and said that she was disoriented and could not see clearly. Police believe that the car was stopped in a pull-off area beyond the Tappan Zee Bridge tollbooths for at least part of this call. Hance reportedly told Schuler to stay off the road while he came to meet them; follow-up calls from Hance to Schuler were not answered. For some reason, she left her cell phone on the highway; it was found by another motorist by the side of the road near the tollbooth.