Wrong-Way Crash Survivor Leaves Hospital
5-year-old moved to rehab center
Tuesday, Aug 11, 2009 | Updated 11:24 AM EDT
NBCNewYork.com
Bryan Schuler, left, was the only survivor of the wrong-way crash that killed eight people, including his sister, cousins and mother, who toxicology reports show was drunk and high at the time of the crash.
The 5-year-old boy who survived the tragic wrong-way crash that killed eight people on the Taconic Parkway has left the hospital, but he's not going home yet.
Jay Schuler, sister-in-law of the woman who was behind the wheel on the fatal day, told NBC her nephew was transferred to a rehab center. She didn't say which one.
Earlier, David Billig, spokesman for the Westchester Medical Center, said that Bryan Schuler of West Babylon was no longer listed in the hospital patient directory.
Bryan is the son of Diane Schuler, who drove her minivan the wrong way and caused a three-car collision on the Taconic, about 35 miles north of New York City, on July 26. The crash killed Schuler, her daughter, three nieces and three men in another vehicle. An autopsy found she was drunk and drugged.
Bryan was the only survivor in the minivan. Billig said privacy rules forbid him from saying where the boy went after leaving the hospital. He also would not discuss Bryan's injuries, and said the hospital would not be releasing any further information.
Toxicology reports from Schuler's autopsy found her blood-alcohol level was .19 percent, more than double the state's legal limit, and high levels of the key ingredient in marijuana in her system, suggesting she had smoked pot from 15 minutes to an hour before the crash.
The results of the toxicology reports sparked a barrage of accusations from the families of the three men who died in the SUV. Why didn't anyone know about Schuler's drinking and substance abuse habits? How could she have done this?
Schuler's husband, Daniel, staunchly defended his wife at a news conference last week. His family and attorney have argued that the 36-year-old Long Island mother was revered and trusted with children and suggested that separate medical conditions could have affected her driving before the crash.
An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash continues, but it's unlikely Daniel Schuler will face charges.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York
