There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Diane is an HBO documentary surrounding the mysterious behavior of Diane Schuler prior to a motor vehicle accident that took the lives of eight victims, ranging from the ages of two years old to eighty-one years old. 

When the show begins we are introduced to Diane’s husband, Daniel, and her sister-in-law, Jay, who are telling the story from their own perspectives. They begin by explaining the happenings on the morning of July 26, 2009. 

Diane exits the Hunter Lake Campground after having a cup of coffee with her husband. The five young children and she climb into the 2003 Ford Windstar van and settle in for the trip back home to West Babylon, New York. They stop for breakfast at the Liberty, New York McDonald’s, at which time Diane appears to be okay. 

The strange behavior begins once she exits the nearby gas station. According to the store employee she attempted to purchase some sort of pain medication, which unfortunately they did not sell. 

According to eyewitnesses Diane exhibits strange behavior beginning at 11:00 a.m. and lasting till 1:35 p.m. In between this time, she was seen beside the road (possibly vomiting) and driving capriciously. At approximately 11:37 a.m. she made a call to her brother, Warren Hance, to tell him that they would be arriving back home later than expected, due to dense traffic. According to the police reports, Hance admitted to receiving another call from Diane and acknowledged that she was having difficulty seeing clearly and she appeared to discombobulated. Hance tried on several different occasions to get back in touch with Diane, but it was to no avail. 

Diane’s reckless and strange behavior continued until it came to a sudden stop at 1:35 p.m. at which time she was involved in a fatal crash, which left eight victims deceased and two living but injured victims.

Afterthought

The storyline progresses throughout the documentary. We finally get to see a very detached husband and father, Daniel, which is hidden until the very end of the show. In the beginning we hear nothing bad about Diane, she was a loving mother, wife, and a very long term, dedicated account executive for CableVision. She appeared to have no problems leading up to the accident except for a toothache. It was later revealed that her toxicology report was not in her favor. Was Diane struggling with depression, anxiety, or some other type of mental illness? Or was she a raging alcoholic like some media sources like to suggest?

Review

All and all this was a very good documentary, but it turns out that the accident was not caused from some supernatural being, but because of a very intoxicated driver, Diane. This is a great documentary to watch if you want to get an up close look at how an inebriated person behaves behind the wheel of a vehicle. Interesting perspective on the 2009 Taconic crash, which explores how grieving families continue living in denial years later. This documentary deserves a 7 out of 10.