There's something wrong with Aunt Diane...

mexicolombiana

Anyone watch this a few days ago on HBO?

It freaked me out.  What a terrible tragedy.

 

LuckyMom0203

Ugh, no, I didn't see it but I know what it's about.  Yeah, it's such a horrific story.  From what I've heard, the documentary frames it almost like a mystery, like maybe she wasn't blitzed out of her mind?  Is that right?  B/c I thought it was a pretty open and shut case.

aforst

I watched it around 3 a.m. when I couldn't sleep the other night.  It was horrifying.

haleymay18

Wait, is that the aunt who killed some nieces/nephews and her own kids in the car accident & had like a .23 blood alcohol?

That was so sad.

mexicolombiana

I really didn't know much about the story before watching the documentary.  I remember hearing about it on the news.  All I remembered was a woman was drunk and high and drove the wrong way down a highway, crashed head on into another car and killed lots of kids. 

The documentary DOES try to portray her in a different light: A loving mother who could not have POSSIBLY have been drunk/high.  Her family really tries hard to convince people that there must have been another explanation for her actions.  

In the end no one will ever know what happened and what drove her to apparently drink so much in such a short span of time with all those kids in the car! (and get high). But you really can't argue with those toxicology results.  

Whatever happened, it really freaked me out. 

By the way it's pretty graphic in some parts and I didn't expect for them to actually show her body at the scene of the accident. 

nealbl

No b/c I read the article of the interview the parents did and the Mother said she was very saddened that they used her daughter's last words to make a movie. She did not approve of it. BTW they are pregnant again which is wonderful news for them but i can't imgine the mixed emotions of losing all your children and being pregnant with a new one.

liza0828

I watched it and thought it was very powerful.

I did not come away AT ALL with the impression that the filmmakers are implying that perhaps she wasn't drunk and high.  They make it very clear that the autopsy results were correct.  They were verified by several different sources, and her family seems very much in denial.

But the thing that makes it compelling is that even though we know WHY she crashed (she was severely intoxicated), there are still more questions than answers about the case.  From the toxicology results, she clearly drank large amounts of alcohol and smoked pot within an hour of when she crashed.  Why?  Why would she do that?  She doesn't fit the profile of a "functional alcoholic", although she did have a pot habit and did drink on occasion.   It almost seems like she was trying to commit suicide. But if that's the case, why in the world would she do it with her kids in the car, and with her brother's kids in the car?  It doesn't make sense.

It makes me wonder if she had an undiagnosed mental illness, like she was hearing voices or something.  Nothing that happened that day makes sense at all.

I saw the movie a couple days ago and it's really haunting me.  It's clear that even though she had a lot of family and friends in her life, it seems like no one REALLY knew her.

Just a horrible, horrible tragedy. 

mexicolombiana

liza0828:

I watched it and thought it was very powerful.

I did not come away AT ALL with the impression that the filmmakers are implying that perhaps she wasn't drunk and high.  They make it very clear that the autopsy results were correct.  They were verified by several different sources, and her family seems very much in denial.

But the thing that makes it compelling is that even though we know WHY she crashed (she was severely intoxicated), there are still more questions than answers about the case.  From the toxicology results, she clearly drank large amounts of alcohol and smoked pot within an hour of when she crashed.  Why?  Why would she do that?  She doesn't fit the profile of a "functional alcoholic", although she did have a pot habit and did drink on occasion.   It almost seems like she was trying to commit suicide. But if that's the case, why in the world would she do it with her kids in the car, and with her brother's kids in the car?  It doesn't make sense.

It makes me wonder if she had an undiagnosed mental illness, like she was hearing voices or something.  Nothing that happened that day makes sense at all.

I saw the movie a couple days ago and it's really haunting me.  It's clear that even though she had a lot of family and friends in her life, it seems like no one REALLY knew her.

Just a horrible, horrible tragedy. 

 

oh yes you're right the film doesn't try to portray her in a different light, I meant to say that the family desperately does, which adds to the sadness of it all.   I also wondered if she didn't have some mental illness.

doggylovr

i actually really wanted to watch it but we dont get hbo.....anyone know if its availbale online somewhere?

meechrobi

I have not seen this, but I did see on the news last week that her husband is now suing her brothers family for allowing someone who was "unfit" to get behind the wheel and he is suing the state of NY for not having enough posted signs on the Taconic Pkwy.

So sad.

KingRay09

I haven't watched it yet. I was actually on the Taconic when it happened. I didn't actually see it happen but I saw all of the wreckage. There were police, fire trucks and ambulances all over. The two men who died were actually the uncle and grandfather of a guy I went to high school with. So sad.

liza0828

doggylovr:

i actually really wanted to watch it but we dont get hbo.....anyone know if its availbale online somewhere?

If you have Comcast, it's available On Demand. 

ellie31

I watched it last week and I'm still thinking about it. It certainly didn't make Daniel Schuler look good. I cannot stand how he was complaining about being a single father and that he never wanted kids to begin with. He showed no emotion over the baby daughter he lost and whined about the fact that he had to do things like help his six year old and only survivor of the crash, with his homework. He even admitted that he didn't help with the kids at all and that his wife did everything. Anyone who keeps insisting that his wife and marriage were, "perfect" and that there were never any bad times in twelve years, is lying. Bottom line is that she snapped and trgically took those innocent kids and three men with her on her rampage. Something must have happened the morning of the crash that made her lose it and he's afraid people will partially blame him. And, I'm still wondering why the filmmakers chose to show her body. I was a little afraid they would show the kids but knew that they probably wouldn't because it would have been in SERIOUS poor taste.

Dv52077

I watched it last night and man it kept me up too!  I used to live by the last rest stop they were at.  They did an amazing job at reconstructing the times and locations.  I really think she just wanted to end it and took 7 other innocent people with her. 

shopgirl78

ellie31:

I watched it last week and I'm still thinking about it. It certainly didn't make Daniel Schuler look good. I cannot stand how he was complaining about being a single father and that he never wanted kids to begin with. He showed no emotion over the baby daughter he lost and whined about the fact that he had to do things like help his six year old and only survivor of the crash, with his homework. He even admitted that he didn't help with the kids at all and that his wife did everything. Anyone who keeps insisting that his wife and marriage were, "perfect" and that there were never any bad times in twelve years, is lying. Bottom line is that she snapped and trgically took those innocent kids and three men with her on her rampage. Something must have happened the morning of the crash that made her lose it and he's afraid people will partially blame him.

This.  I half wonder if he told her that he was leaving.   I think I second abandonment would take her to *that place*