# RO: I'll just have a few drinks, smoke a few joints, then go the wrong way on a major highway. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 5, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410 "2009-08-05T13:25:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/1 "2009-08-05T13:25:14Z")
You kill four innocent children, three innocent adults, and fortunately, yourself. Read about Diane Schuler, shithead of the year, decade, and probably century right [here](http://www.1010wins.com/Sound-Off--Wrong-Way-Driver-Had-More-Than-10-Drink/4942910). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/2 "2009-08-05T13:36:14Z")
It’s pronounced “Shih-THAY-idd”. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/3 "2009-08-05T13:46:38Z")
This story makes me wish that religion was totally true, just so this woman could rot in hell. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/4 "2009-08-05T13:50:53Z")
The last line of the article: "Never has there been a more responsible and trusted friend or caregiver.’’ Yeah, well, that’s kind of all been negated now hasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/5 "2009-08-05T13:52:49Z")
The families of the victims are typical morons… who exactly could charges be laid against? ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/6 "2009-08-05T13:57:08Z")
Wow. The NY media tripped all over themselves to avoid portraying this event in a negative light. Her behavior was terribly bizzare, yet the NY tabloids treated the whole thing with kid gloves. Now that the tox results have come out the story is outright burried. Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/7 "2009-08-05T14:09:26Z")
Buried? It’s on the front page of the Daily News and the Post and the Times. Not to mention that for once it is refreshing to see the media avoid rampant speculation and wait for the test results to come in. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/8 "2009-08-05T14:26:14Z")
> [@Angry Lurker](#): > > The families of the victims are typical morons… who exactly could charges be laid against? I’m sure they can find a lawyer who can think of something. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/9 "2009-08-05T14:35:28Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Buried? It’s on the front page of the Daily News and the Post and the Times. Sorry, 'twasn’t there when I looked earlier this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/10 "2009-08-05T14:42:37Z")
> [@Hung\_Mung](#): > > I’m sure they can find a lawyer who can think of something. Only the state can file criminal charges. I am sure they would have no problem filing a civil suit against the estate though. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/11 "2009-08-05T14:52:59Z")
I cannot get this horrifying story out of my head. She had apparently been driving erratically at least since shortly after she first started out. Had she had a substance-abuse problem for a long time? Or was this an out-of-character binge? Had they had some argument before starting out? Those poor families. It’s just so ghastly. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/12 "2009-08-05T15:00:28Z")
> [@Baracus](#): > > Only the state can file criminal charges. I am sure they would have no problem filing a civil suit against the estate though. Would the state take money away from a guy that still has a 5-year old to support? I understand the victim’s family’s rage, but unless the estate has a lot of assets, I don’t see them doing anything that would ruin them. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/13 "2009-08-05T15:13:29Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Would the state take money away from a guy that still has a 5-year old to support? I understand the victim’s family’s rage, but unless the estate has a lot of assets, I don’t see them doing anything that would ruin them. Its not the state that would file a civil suit, but the families. In following the local news I am getting the sense that the family of the 3 men in the other vehicle are getting really angry with the way the investigation is being handled and I don’t blame them. I don’t believe the woman’s brother and husband are being completely forthcoming and the investigators seem unwilling to press them in their time of grief. But the woman called her brother a half hour before the crash, ALLEGEDLY to tell him that she wasn’t feeling well and was disoriented. He says she agreed to pull over and wait for help, instead she threw the phone out of the car and left the highway that would take her home and headed out on a totally random route. But the phone call to her brother lasted 8 minutes and I am hard pressed to believe he didn’t realize she was hammered, especially as one of the little girls had to get on the phone to give him a hint of their location. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/14 "2009-08-05T15:24:32Z")
Her bother lost all three of his children. I wouldn’t be eager to try to blame him. He’s got to be near catatonic. I know I would be. It sounds like he tried to get her to pull over. It’s not his fault if she didn’t. I disagree with the OP that the driver’s own death was “fortunate.” I find it extremely _un_fortunate and dissatisfactory. She never has to understand what she did or be held accountable for it. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/15 "2009-08-05T15:34:03Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Her bother lost all three of his children. I wouldn’t be eager to try to blame him. He’s got to be near catatonic. I know I would be. It sounds like he tried to get her to pull over. It’s not his fault if she didn’t. He also called the cops to try and locate her. The only thing I could think of that he could have done (entirely in hindsight) was tell his daughter to get all the kids out of the car and wait on the side of the road. Now… her husband is someone I might be inclined to wonder about. How does someone go from being a loving trustworthy well adjusted mother heading home at 9:30am to being drunk and stoned at 1:30pm? I think there’s more to this story than a woman going completely off her rocker. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/16 "2009-08-05T15:47:18Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > How does someone go from being a loving trustworthy well adjusted mother heading home at 9:30am to being drunk and stoned at 1:30pm? A dime bag and a bottle of Wild Turkey. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/17 "2009-08-05T15:54:20Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > …Now… her husband is someone I might be inclined to wonder about. How does someone go from being a loving trustworthy well adjusted mother heading home at 9:30am to being drunk and stoned at 1:30pm? I think there’s more to this story than a woman going completely off her rocker. It’s not all that surprising to me. Spouses can hide many things from each other, especially if they’re not close. She probably waited for him to leave, and then got completely blitzed. And close family members will often ignore obvious signs, with the intention of maintaining good family relations. Certainly, no one expected her to do what she did. If she had prior driving offenses related to chemical consumption, then maybe you could lay blame on others. If not, it’s a tough call without knowing all the facts. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/18 "2009-08-05T15:54:41Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Would the state take money away from a guy that still has a 5-year old to support? I understand the victim’s family’s rage, but unless the estate has a lot of assets, I don’t see them doing anything that would ruin them. Any award would be up to a jury rather than the state. I would assume that her share of any assets they held would be fair game, but his would not. Once those were liquidated and doled out, that would be it. I don’t believe that would be able to garnish the husband’s future wages or anything. Keep in mind that at least one of the victims left behind 3 kids who may be facing their own financial problems depending on their mom’s employment/employablity, whatever life insurance he may have had, and whether or not the driver carried more than NY’s pitiful 25K/50K minimum liability coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/19 "2009-08-05T16:01:44Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > It’s not all that surprising to me. Spouses can hide many things from each other, especially if they’re not close. She probably waited for him to leave, and then got completely blitzed. And close family members will often ignore obvious signs, with the intention of maintaining good family relations. Certainly, no one expected her to do what she did. If she had prior driving offenses related to chemical consumption, then maybe you could lay blame on others. If not, it’s a tough call without knowing all the facts. Yup, I have a brother-in-law who none of us - not even his wife - knew was an alcoholic until we got the call that he was in the ER with a failing liver due to alcohol. He would hide his drinking, and drink a lot of hard alcohol (typically vodka) to get the “bang” faster. We all drank at family gatherings to get through them, but he would hold back enough to get through without looking out of place. He had symptoms that you’d associate with advanced alcoholism but enough other problems to explain them - the rosy cheeks and nose were his rosacea, his belly and digestive issues, well, plenty of people have weight problems and he and his wife thought he had Irritable Bowel Syndrome and had made an appointment for him to see a doctor. Even a sister-in-law who is a recovering alcoholic (sober for many years) didn’t get tipped off. I could easily see her waiting until her husband was gone, then chugging vodka down as quickly as she could to get her buzz. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410/20 "2009-08-05T16:11:23Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > A dime bag and a bottle of Wild Turkey. Duh. Actually, a open broken bottle of Absolut vodka was found in her car. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-ill-just-have-a-few-drinks-smoke-a-few-joints-then-go-the-wrong-way-on-a-major-highway/505410.md?page=2)