<p>Thanks again to cartera45 and Zoosermom for sharing their knowledge about the legal process. It is something of a relief that the brother is not likely to be found negligent unless there is very clear evidence that he was aware of any substance abuse problem. </p>
<p>My first thought was also that this tragedy was the result some kind of murder-suicide impulse. In my town (Chicago suburbs), we’ve had three cases of a parent murdering a child/children within the past ten years. The most recent was a woman who set herself and two children on fire while her husband was taking an MBA class downtown at U of C. And ten years ago a wife drugged her three young children and then held their mouths shut (yes, she killed them with her bare hands), in an attempt to get back at her husband during their divorce. He was a physician, she was a nurse, and they lived in a spectacular showcase restored mansion–no one could believe what had happened. </p>
<p>When it comes to human (mis)behavior, anything goes and we tend to forget that. If this woman was having marital or other emotional problems and wanted to kill herself, that’s one thing. But to rob so many innocent people of their lives is just incomprehensible.</p>
<p>Any sincere effort to decouple drinking from driving would have to address the fact that virtually every establishment in America that serves alcohol, including those that serve nothing but alcohol, has a parking lot. </p>
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<p>In some states insurance goes with the car, in other states insurance goes with the driver. I have lived in states with both systems, but I have never lived in NY, so I don’t know what the policy is there.</p>
<p>I am not aware of any states in which the insurance follows the driver, not the car. There may be excess insurance that kicks in, but I’d be really surprised to learn that the primary policy would be the driver’s rather than the car’s.</p>
<p>Also, some folks have mentioned umbrella policies, and I have had them when I’ve lived in places where they’re available, but they are not available every place in the U.S. (Home equity lines are also unavailable where I live.)</p>
<p>I would happily consolidate my insurances if umbrella policies were one of the products available to me. It might cost a bit more, even with a combined policies discount, but the peace of mind would be worth a lot.</p>
<p>As to the variation among states in car insurance, I learned the hard way that every state has different laws governing who is responsible for insurance coverage when a non-owner is driving the vehicle. It is possible that states have become more alike since I last bought insurance in one.</p>
<p>just saw a national news report on this.
The husband spoke to the press today and said there was NO WAY his wife was drinking. Huh? Her blood alcohol came in a .18…more than twice the legal limit.
He wants second round of tests done…says it MUST be something else.
Poor guy… I really feel for him. But I think he’s delusional…</p>
<p>Just an FYI, while you check to see if you can get an umbrella policy in your state, be sure to check your Underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage. This protects you in case you are injured by someone with no insurance or very low limits.</p>
<p>The news of her alcohol level turned my thoughts to the Virginia Tech and Binghamton Civic Association massacre/suicides. I wonder if there will emerge a story of paranoid/delusional/depressive mental illness. The alcohol almost seems secondary–like a prop, or a facilitator, rather than the fundamental cause of the incident.</p>
<p>Her wrong-way drive seems to have similarities to the recent shooting rampages. It should absolutely be investigated as a crime. How else can the authorities impound her home and work PCs and email records, online accounts, cell phones, etc? Lawsuits aside, the survivors and the public deserve to know the full story.</p>
<p>The survivors maybe, but the woman is dead and no longer poses a threat to anyone, so unless the manner of her death is tied to a public health risk, I fail to see how her mental and physical health are any of our business.</p>
<p>Regarding the diabetes: our local paper features a story today about a pharmacist in this town who disappeared the other night after acting in a local theater production. He was a severe diabetic who was known to become very disoriented while driving if his insulin was not being controlled well. Today they found him, his car submerged in a farm pond, off the side of a rural road. </p>
<p>Back to the NY story: According to the initial autopsy, there was a large amount of undigested alcohol still in her stomach. I don’t know enough about autopsies or the chemistry involved to know if it is possible to get that wrong. Perhaps diabetes would complicate things (?)</p>
<p>more info.
They found a empty bottle of Absolut vodka in her car.
Seems she downed about 10 shots.
Friends report that she was unhappy recently and drinking BIG TIME at bars.
Brother and husband claim to know nothing about it.
This is a really strange case…</p>
<p>Ok, scenario: because this whole story is haunting me. Perhaps the wife was an addict/alcoholic but was REFORMED (so her husband would not know this) and she relapsed, (after a marital argument??) so, she called her brother; who, though aware she had previously been an alcoholic, would have trusted her with his kids, since she (perhaps) had been clean for years. It happens…obviously, she had no judgment once she started drinking. Sadly, I CANNOT stop thinking of those kids terror for the last half hour of the drive. I am picturing a kid trying to call her own Dad for help, and her aunt throwing the phone away. If that is not terror, I don’t know what is.</p>
<p>I don’t know that the child herself initiated the call but yesterday’s NY Times article that mentioned the driver’s conversation saying she didn’t know where she was also mentioned that the 8-year-old girl had spoken to her father (I think during the course of that conversation) and told him about seeing the Tarrytown sign. (Talking on a non-hands-free phone while driving is a primary offense in New york State so perhaps there was some shred of caution left in the driver at the time and it is possible the girl is the one who actually made the call.)</p>
<p>Someone on the last page here wrote something about how its over and none of our business, but it makes a big difference to the family whether she was drunk or not because they could be sued for being criminally complicit if they knew she had a problem. Last night they said on the news that the autopsy also included urine and tissue tests and the results were all with the blood tests, that she was inebriated.</p>