Cops expedite Taconic driver's toxicology results
Five members of a Long Island family were thrown from this minivan, which police said was traveling the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway in Westchester. (July 26, 2009) Credit: The Journal News Photo
Toxicology results from Diane Schuler's autopsy should be available Wednesday, investigators said Sunday, offering hope for a medical explanation for the wrong way Taconic State Parkway crash last week that killed eight people.
-Click to see the latest photos from the Taconic crash tragedyTests on Schuler's blood and eyeball fluid were initially expected to take four to eight weeks to come back. But the Westchester medical examiner granted the New York State Police's request to expedite the results, said Investigator Shannon Morrison.
"They put a rush on them," Morrison said. Police asked for the expedited results to get answers quickly to the worst crash in Westchester County in 75 years, he said.
Schuler, 36, of West Babylon, drove a Ford minivan south into northbound traffic on the Taconic on July 26, colliding head-on with a sport utility vehicle. The crash killed Schuler, her daughter, three nieces and three Yonkers men in the SUV.
Schuler, who had a clean driving record and no known medical or mental health problems, called her brother about 30 minutes before the accident to say she wasn't feeling well and was having trouble seeing, police said.
Initial results from Schuler's autopsy found no medical conditions, investigators said. Forensic scientists and investigators have said tests on Schuler's eye fluid could show whether a blood sugar surge might have caused disorientation. Blood tests could determine a possible undiagnosed condition that contributed to her driving 1.7 miles southbound in the northbound lane of the parkway.
-Click to see the latest photos from the Taconic crash tragedy
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
