Poisoned Apple: What happened to Aunt Diane?
The official HBO poster of “There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane,” a documentary from 2011.
In light of the Patriots Drive Safe SGA Spring Project, this true crime documentary about Diane Schuler is also a story that students can learn from.
On Sunday, July 26, 2009, Diane Schuler set off in her car toward home on Long Island, a drive she had made numerous times before. Five young children were in the car as well: her son, her daughter and three nieces. For nearly two miles, Schuler was driving the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway. She eventually crashed into an oncoming SUV, which ended up killing herself and seven others.
As one of the worst motor-vehicle accidents in New York State history, the tragedy quickly became national news. Her actions on that day, and in the past, were thrust under careful scrutiny by the public. Diane Schuler was portrayed by the news as a reckless drunk and a mother who carelessly put her own children in danger. But so many who knew Schuler described her as the perfect wife and mother, and so the desperate hunt for answers began.
About a week after her deadly crash, Shulers’s toxicology report revealed she had a blood-alcohol content of .19%. According to DUI Driving Laws, this is the equivalent of 10 drinks; more than twice the legal limit. She also tested positive for marijuana use. In sharp contrast to the toxicology report, Schuler had no known history of substance abuse or psychological problems and was generally known as a loving and stable wife and mother.
Nearly two years after the accident, There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Diane, a documentary on HBO, reveals previously unknown information about that day, and sheds light on the unknown side of Schuler. A wife and mother, who was also a cable TV executive, emerges in the film as a woman who strove to be perfect, often referred to as “supermom” by friends and family. This contrasts with the aftermath of her actions.
The film follows Diane’s husband and sister-in-law, who have been trying to clear Diane’s name ever since her death. According to the documentary, they simply “cannot reconcile the toxicology results with the loving mother and aunt who would never knowingly endanger her children.”
Guy Bastardi, his father Michael Bastardi, and family friend Daniel Longo, were in the car that crashed head-on into Diane’s vehicle and died shortly after. Bastardi’s daughters, Roseanne Guzzo and Margaret Nicotina, say they have forgiven Diane but find it harder to forgive Daniel and Jay, who seem to them to be in denial about Diane’s accountability.
There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Diane reveals a complex and complicated case – as opposed to one solved by simple or reductive analysis. This mysterious and shattering tragedy draws the public in, feeling a need to find out what really happened to Aunt Diane.
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Senior Emma Song is a managing editor in her third year on Common Sense. In her free time, she enjoys doing hip-hop choreography with friends and listening...
Marcia Nelson • Dec 20, 2023 at 2:54 pm
It’s Dec. 2023 and this is the second time I’ve watched the documentary.
There is absolutely no way this woman was as perfect as her family keeps saying , redundantly over and over again. She was perfect in everything.
All the family members say a rehearsed narrative . Not one person says she was a human and made mistakes. From the time she woke up to the time she went to bed she was perfect. She was the controller in the family. She was the breadwinner in the family , she called the shots , she did everything perfectly. The brother and sister in-law that lost the 3 girls , wanted nothing to do with the documentary. I think she was smart and hid her addictions . I believe she was held up to a higher standard with jn her family and she maintained this expectation. Drunk.