Probe: Diane Schuler was speeding before wrong-way crash

The final state police report on the wrong-way Taconic State Parkway crash last year that killed eight people says that the West Babylon woman who caused the accident was going 85 mph when she plowed into a sport utility vehicle.

Troopers declined to release the report in full, but they reiterated that Diane Schuler, 36, of West Babylon, was both drunk - with a blood-alcohol level of .19 percent - and high on marijuana when the July 26 accident occurred. The SUV was going 74 mph at the time, the report said.

"Investigation and collision reconstruction analysis reveals that the Schuler vehicle was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of traffic at approximately 85 miles per hour when it struck theBastardi vehicle, which was traveling northbound in the northbound lanes at approximately 74 miles per hour," said a news release summarizing the report.

The statement said the accident occurred in the left-hand lane of the highway on a stretch in Mount Pleasant. The speed limit in that area is 55 mph.

Killed were Schuler, her 2-year-old daughter, Erin, and Schuler's three nieces, Emma Hance, 9, Alison Hance, 7, and Kate Hance, 5, of Floral Park 5. Killed in the sport utility vehicle were Yonkers men Guy Bastardi, 49, his father, Michael Bastardi Sr., 81, and their friend, Daniel Longo, 74. Three other people were injured.

Schuler's husband, Daniel, and the family's attorney, Dominic Barbara of Garden City, have long disputed investigators' findings that Diane Schuler was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. They claim she was not an alcoholic and that the accident was caused by one or more existing medical conditions.

The Schulers and Barbara could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

State police officials could not be reached for further comment Tuesday, and the statement said: "With the completion of the aforementioned report, the State Police have concluded their investigation."

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the collision reconstruction report looked at the physics of the crash to come up with a final speed.

Michael Bastardi Jr., son and brother of the accident victims, told the Journal-News in Westchester that the report offers little closure for his family. "I'm going to do everything in my power to find out the real story here. The public deserves it and it affects everybody," he told the paper from his home in Warwick, N.Y.

There is a pending lawsuit filed by the Bastardi family against Diane Schuler's estate and Warren Hance, whose minivan she was driving.

Irving Anolik, a spokesman for the Bastardi family, which is suing the Schulers, said 74 mph was the normal speed of traffic on the Taconic Parkway. "Most cars are going that speed," he said.

He said Schuler's speed of 85 mph was not relevant to the family's lawsuit. "It doesn't change our position at all," Anolik said. "The driver of the death car was going the wrong way on a major highway and was negligent."

The Bastardi family and their representatives were not given a copy of the report Tuesday, Anolik said.

A man who answered the door at the Schuler home in West Babylon declined to comment.

With Chau Lam and Michael Amon