# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 7:30pm 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/505410/21 "2009-08-05T19:30:54Z")
Here’s a good updated article about about the wreck: [http://wcbstv.com/local/wrong.way.crash.2.1115827.html](http://wcbstv.com/local/wrong.way.crash.2.1115827.html) I’ve driven the road many times. This accident haunted me. I’ve since seen the accident spot. Even though the Taconic Parkway can be an inherently dangerous road, at 1:30 pm on a clear day there is no way an accident like this should happen where it did. What the police are probably looking into is whether the husband allowed his wife to drive impaired. If that was the case, charges should be filed. A 36 year old woman, with kids, driving someone else’s kids, destroying 3 families when her brother said he would come and get her. It’s mind numbing. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 8:55pm 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/505410/22 "2009-08-05T20:55:42Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I disagree with the OP that the driver’s own death was “fortunate.” I find it extremely _un_fortunate and dissatisfactory. No kidding – it would’ve been divine justice if she were paralyzed or otherwise maimed for life, instead of transferring her karma to her surviving family. Soccer moms are already a menace to society. There’s something about a minivan that sucks a mother’s brain right out of her nostrils. Add a brood of screaming brats, a ringing cell phone, touching up makeup in the rearview mirror, and you’ve got a two-ton rolling disaster BEFORE adding drugs & alcohol to the mixture. It’s stories like this that make me want to kick a puppy. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 9:02pm 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/505410/23 "2009-08-05T21:02:23Z")
Why didn’t the other adults in the car notice that something was up and try to prevent her from driving? ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 9:06pm 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/505410/24 "2009-08-05T21:06:25Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Why didn’t the other adults in the car notice that something was up and try to prevent her from driving? From my understanding, Shuler and the 5 kids were the only people in her car. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 9:07pm 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/505410/25 "2009-08-05T21:07:06Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > From my understanding, Shuler and the 5 kids were the only people in her car. Oh, were the three adults in another car, then? Sorry, didn’t realize that… ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 9:16pm 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/505410/26 "2009-08-05T21:16:43Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Oh, were the three adults in another car, then? Sorry, didn’t realize that… I’m assuming (though I haven’t seen it written recently) that it was a head-on collision (since she was going the wrong way) that killed Guy Bastardi, 49, his father, Michael Bastardi, 81, and family friend Daniel Longo, 74, in the other vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 9:21pm 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/505410/27 "2009-08-05T21:21:11Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > I’m assuming (though I haven’t seen it written recently) that it was a head-on collision (since she was going the wrong way) that killed Guy Bastardi, 49, his father, Michael Bastardi, 81, and family friend Daniel Longo, 74, in the other vehicle. Yes, and she had driven about 1.7 miles the wrong way before the head-on occurred. It is a busy highway. (Next time you are in a car driving at highway speeds take note of how long 1.7 miles is.) There were 6 calls to 911 about her before the accident took place. Although there are guard rails, there are breaks in them and thus there were plenty of places to pull off the road. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 9:48pm 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/505410/28 "2009-08-05T21:48:00Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > Shuler and the 5 kids were the only people in her car. Even so, I’m amazed that none of the older girls tried calling 911 or at least told their aunt that, you know, she shouldn’t guzzle vodka while driving erratically. 7 and 9 is plenty old enough to be aware of the dangers; heck, I was younger than that when I started bitching at my own parents for running red lights and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 12:08am 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/505410/29 "2009-08-06T00:08:55Z")
I caught the tail end of this on the national news (CBS) last night. I didn’t catch names and thought someone famous must have been involved. Why did this make the national news? Surely 8 people dead in a two-vehicle MVA isn’t that rare. Is it because the impaired driver was a soccer mom? Because it happened in New York, HQ for the major news outlets? ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 1:30am 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/505410/30 "2009-08-06T01:30:39Z")
I think it was because, before the toxicology report, it was so bizarre that someone would drive this way and there were 5 kids involved; now, after the report, 'cause she was a 'damn fool soccer mom. **fuzzypickles** , maybe the older kids were just too terrified to do anything more than freeze or scream their heads off, or didn’t have access to a phone. Remember, Shuler even dropped or threw her phone out the window before the hit the freeway. And even if they were pleading with her, the driver seems to have been too impaired to respond in any way sensible. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 3:15am 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/505410/31 "2009-08-06T03:15:58Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Because it happened in New York, HQ for the major news outlets? That would be my vote. > [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > **fuzzypickles** , maybe the older kids were just too terrified to do anything more than freeze or scream their heads off, or didn’t have access to a phone. Remember, Shuler even dropped or threw her phone out the window before the hit the freeway. And even if they were pleading with her, the driver seems to have been too impaired to respond in any way sensible. Hard for me to believe that pampered middle-class girls would be without their own iPhones & blackberries. Come to think, they were probably in their own worlds and didn’t notice mommy’s erratic behavior; the way the media outlets are describing her drinking & driving, it all but sounds _routine_ for her. I’ll bet the boy knew, though. But who listens to five-year-olds? Aw, jeez. I wish war would break out somewhere, so I can get my mind off this horrible story. ☹ ---
**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 6, 2009, 3:43am 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/505410/32 "2009-08-06T03:43:28Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I caught the tail end of this on the national news (CBS) last night. I didn’t catch names and thought someone famous must have been involved. > > Why did this make the national news? Surely 8 people dead in a two-vehicle MVA isn’t that rare. Is it because the impaired driver was a soccer mom? Because it happened in New York, HQ for the major news outlets? Eight people is a big number. Four of them being little children makes it heartbreaking. The circumstances initially being inexplicable makes it an inevitable subject of speculation. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 4:19am 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/505410/33 "2009-08-06T04:19:41Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > Hard for me to believe that pampered middle-class girls would be without their own iPhones & blackberries. Come to think, they were probably in their own worlds and didn’t notice mommy’s erratic behavior; the way the media outlets are describing her drinking & driving, it all but sounds _routine_ for her.( Wow. I didn’t think it was even possible to blame the victim in a situation like this but you found a way. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 4:23am 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/505410/34 "2009-08-06T04:23:52Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Wow. I didn’t think it was even possible to blame the victim in a situation like this but you found a way. What are you talking about? How can you possibly defend this mother’s actions? ---
**Author:** ![supergoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@supergoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supergoose)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 5:12am 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/505410/35 "2009-08-06T05:12:08Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > What are you talking about? How can you possibly defend this mother’s actions? She didn’t. She was referring to the pampered middle-class girls you assumed must be so disconnected from reality by virtue of having electronics to amuse them that they would fail to note their mother was behaving dangerously. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 5:14am 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/505410/36 "2009-08-06T05:14:24Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > What are you talking about? How can you possibly defend this mother’s actions? I meant that line about the daughters probably being distracted on Blackberries. How could you possibly know that? ETA: What **Supergoose** said. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 5:59am 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/505410/37 "2009-08-06T05:59:27Z")
And we still have Dopers suggesting milder DUi laws: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=519683&highlight=drunk](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=519683&highlight=drunk) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=522907&highlight=drunk](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=522907&highlight=drunk) And there was another thread where the OP claimed he could drive perfectly fine at .08. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 7:16am 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/505410/38 "2009-08-06T07:16:51Z")
I fail to see what DUI laws have to do with this sad event. Even if her license were revoked/had jail time, as long as she had access to keys cars and booze she’d still have done it. If she really was a functioning alcoholic then it’s a lifestyle that harsh punishment just doesn’t change by itself. ---
**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 6, 2009, 12:21pm 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/505410/39 "2009-08-06T12:21:47Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > That would be my vote. > > Hard for me to believe that pampered middle-class girls would be without their own iPhones & blackberries. Come to think, they were probably in their own worlds and didn’t notice mommy’s erratic behavior; the way the media outlets are describing her drinking & driving, it all but sounds _routine_ for her. > > I’ll bet the boy knew, though. But who listens to five-year-olds? > > Aw, jeez. I wish war would break out somewhere, so I can get my mind off this horrible story. ☹ It wasn’t their mommy, it was their aunt. The driver’s kids were the 5 year old boy and 2 year old girl…her brothers kids were the 3 girls…9,7,and 5. And I think they were a little young for Blackberries and cell phones. There are some odd timeline issues…I’ve driven that route many times myself and it shouldn’t have taken her more than hour or so to get from the place she left at 9:30 A to the place she was at 1PM. Granted they stopped at a McDonalds for breakfast, but still… It’s like a Jodi Picoult novel in progress. ---
**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 6, 2009, 2:36pm 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/505410/40 "2009-08-06T14:36:46Z")
I heard this morning on the local news that the husband is completely shocked and refuses to admit that his wife was intoxicated in any way. They are requesting the exhumation of the body for independent toxicology analysis. [Previous 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=1) [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=3)