<p>The reason I’m not easily buying the “she’s never done this before” story is that while I can conceive of something happening (a stroke or something) setting off an unprecedented drinking spree, it’s the pot that tells me she was a regular abuser. You can snap, go to a liquor store, buy a big bottle of vodka, and get completely drunk (although my experience tells me a non-drinker would throw-up the vodka LONG before you get to the 10 ounce range).</p>
<p>BUT where does a suburban mom, on a Saturday morning, on her way home from the mountains, get a joint??</p>
<p>Everyone involved in this tragic story will have their lives forever changed.</p>
<p>Re the post above, it was actually a Sunday when this transpired, I believe. Are liquor stores open on Sunday mornings in New York State? (I live in PA with the “state stores.”) If not, then I would imagine she had brought the vodka with her for the weekend.</p>
<p>And the accounts I read said the broken vodka bottle was found in the car when the accident reconstuction crew was removing the seats.</p>
<p>I so feel for the parents of the three nieces. How can they ever move on from this? I can’t imagine a marriage surviving such a tragedy. Every time the wife looks at her husband she has to be reminded of their loss. Perhaps they can somehow find a new and vastly different focus in life in order to move on. (Join the Peace Corps, volunteer for or found an organization?) </p>
<p>I used to live in NY and I think you can but liquor after 12 on Sundays (but I could be way off on that.)</p>
<p>I don’t think she snapped and stopped to get the vodka . . . I think it’s a regular part of her life (if not to that extent). My point was that it’s possible to snap and get liquor easily. But marijuana? Not so much.</p>
<p>Yes, she must have had the pot with her – at least from the time she left the campground, if not from the time she left home. </p>
<p>When H and I bought our house we discovered several bottles of hard liquor hidden in the back of a hall bathroom cabinet (not the master bathroom, but the one we had our kids use). It seemed to us that one of the two adults from whom we bought the house had a drinking issue that he or she kept hidden from the spouse.</p>
<p>I find myself hoping for the Dad’s sake that they find an error somewhere. Could some idiot have spiked her stop at McDonalds? Is there any chance lab results were mixed up? Is there anything else that can mimic or give false positive THC results?</p>
<p>I know I’m reaching. I just feel so sorry for all involved.</p>
<p>The husband’s attorney won’t answer questions about marijuana use because of his client’s job in security. I guess we know what that means. I would rather be on the road with someone smoking dope than chugging 10 shots of vodka so I’m not so outraged by the pot - except to the extent that it piles on the effects of the alcohol. They may have to file criminal charges against the husband in order to get the full story from him.</p>
<p>The husband works as the Nassau County public safety officer.</p>
<p>It was reported in one of the newspaper articles I read that he has commented that his wife occasionally smoked pot and had an occasional drink, and was he was directly quoted as saying “Marijuana use is not a crime anymore. It’s a health violation.” A drinking friend who gave her first name said that Vodka was the drivers alcohol of choice. And the 1.75 liter vodka bottle found at the scene was found in the minivan, not nearby “at the scene” as someone mentioned above. </p>
<p>There is no way that the coroner’s study got the pot and the alcohol consumption wrong. And what was released was likely the blood toxicology report. There will be tissue samples tested for pot and alcohol, and these will be available later. And the testing for stomach contents is separate from the blood testing, and there was undigested alcohol in her stomach. Different tests done on different levels can’t all be wrong,</p>
<p>And there are metabolites of pot that show up at different times. The drug screens on urine are just for the major metabolites. Forensics can run tests on blood and lung tissue to determine, based on THC metabolites and other components, exactly when she was smoking, and how much. They can pinpoint within 5-10 minutes when she last inhaled. </p>
<p>This is a woman who is experienced drinking Vodka, and smoking pot. Suicide or not, we will never know. But her impairment was no accident.</p>
<p>Knights - it was reported from the toxicology report the the level of THC indicated smoking it from 1 hr to as little as 15 minutes prior to the crash. If that is accurate, she was driving along smoking dope or did so when she pulled off the road - although that was more than a hour away from the crash I think. If she were a smoker, the kids wouldn’t necessarily think anything of it if she smoked while she drove.</p>
<p>So do you suppose the strong denial is emotional or knowledge that he could be pursued for knowing she had a problem yet letting her get in the car with the kids?</p>
<p>Is there ANY way the tests could be wrong? I’m thinking one maybe, not all. But I know nothing of these kinds of tests. </p>
<p>She either hid the drinking and smoking, or he is in denial. Or he is protecting himself from legal issues. As a public safely office, he knows a bit about protecting/shielding one’s self from legal issues,.</p>
<p>I cannot imagine choosing Barbara for anything. I guess the advantage is that anyone standing next to him looks innocent in comparison. If you need to make up a really good story though, you may as well go to the one with the most experience in that regard.</p>
<p>sunnyflorida
I’m here in NY and they showed the news conference live on all the channels.It was the attorney who made the quote about the “health violation” not the husband/father</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads up. There is an AP story with the husband credited for the comment.Interesti9ng choice of words. Guess that’s why he chose the attorney he did. Maybe next the attorney will produce a prescription for medical marijuana.</p>
<p>You’re probably right. Unfortunately, he may get what he pays for. The only people who can afford the most expensive criminal lawyers are criminals.</p>