There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane

2011 • NR • Series • Catalog pick

On the afternoon of July 26, 2009, Diane Schuler drove the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway in New York for nearly two miles, eventually smashing into an oncoming SUV and killing herself, her daughter, three nieces, and all three people in the other car. Only her five-year-old son survived. Diane's autopsy revealed that she had consumed the equivalent of 10 shots of vodka, and had smoked marijuana, shortly before the accident. Yet by all accounts, Diane had no history of substance abuse or psychological problems, and was generally known to be a loving and stable wife and mother. In There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane, award-winning director Liz Garbus (see below) explores the facts and speculation surrounding this tragic accident. The film follows Diane's husband and sister-in-law, who believe that Diane may have had a medical emergency that precipitated the crash, and who hire a lawyer and PI to investigate that angle. Piecing together a minute-by minute retelling of the fateful day, along with interviews with Diane's family and friends, victims' families, eyewitnesses, investigators, and medical and psychiatric experts, this feature-length film reveals a complex and complicated case that has left all those involved still wondering what really happened to Aunt Diane.