The Taconic State Parkway Killer Mom

On July 26, 2009, Diane Schuler drove off a campground site in upstate New York, loaded with her two children and 3 nieces in her brothers minivan. She said goodbye to Danny, her husband as he drove off in his own car to go fishing.

Four hours later, eight people are dead. Mrs. Schuler drove approximately two miles in the wrong direction on the Taconic State Parkway, while people were blowing their horns and flagging her down to stop. The reports said she had the opportunity to pull the car over safely. Instead, she slammed the minivan head on into an SUV carrying a father, son and long time friend on their way to meet with family to discuss their yearly vacation. Say goodbye to the family vacation.

Her husband is telling everyone Diane was just fine when she drove off that summer day. The autopsy reports said she had the equivalent of 10 shots of alcohol in her stomach and had smoked pot. They found an empty vodka bottle.

Mr. Schuler said Diane was the perfect wife and mother and that he never once saw her drunk, in fact, she rarely drank. Eight people are now dead, seven innocent victims. Talk about living like an ostrich with your head buried in the sand.

Mr. Schuler will have to live the rest of his life having lost his wife, daughter and three nieces in the summer of 2009. The real tragedy is this possibly could have been prevented, but like so many people in our society today, we refuse to believe in the existence of reality. In this particular case, I'm guessing alcohol abuse reared its ugly head on a regular basis in this household.

Why can't we talk to one another about what is truly bothering us to our family, friends and coworkers? Instead, a lot of us walk around flashing fake smiles while we secretly pop our pills, take our drugs and guzzle alcohol.

If we keep on living in denial and ignore the obvious signs, we will continue to read about tragedies such as the one that took place on the Taconic State Parkway, leaving eight people dead.