Ran across this doc on HBO earlier this week. For those who haven't seen it, it covers the story of a truly tragic car accident some years ago involving a family from LI on the way home from a camping trip. The loss of life among the family and several other innocent drivers is about as sad as it gets, so I feel a bit odd writing about it. The case is very curious though so I wanted to see what others thought about it.
The family (mother, daughters, cousins) were on the way home from a camping trip on the Taconic Pkwy. The husband drove separately in his truck. They left at the same time, and the families began to receive calls from the kids intimating that there was something wrong with the mother and that she couldn't see. The van she was driving was seen making several somewhat aggressive maneuvers (switching lanes, tailgating, etc.) by other motorists. She was seen in a McDonalds and on CCTV at a station, behaving normally and sober from accounts.
The accident ultimately took place after she began traveling on the Taconic going in the wrong direction. She was later found to have had the equivalent of 10 drinks and THC in her system. The accident occurred in the early afternoon. The husband and family, while admitting occasional use of reefer and booze, categorically stated that she was not an abuser, and that she would never have endangered her daughters and nieces by DWI. They desperately hoped that the chemical analyses were mistaken, but they were later supported by an additional round of testing. They were pinning their hopes on false results, a lab mistake, or that it was some sort of medical episode. Either way, the results don't lie, so it seems she was indeed drunk and/or stoned at the time.
Anyway, there is still a bit of mystery involved. How and why does a seemingly successful woman endanger her family and all other motorists during the middle of the day with such obviously poor choices and odd behavior?
Peace to those lost and the families.
I know a couple of suburban moms who have a fondness for the booze, pills and funky stuff From the outside looking in one would never expect anything's wrong.
But as I said above, something like this was intriguing at the time, but now? Not really.
Maybe... She should've hit a sign or a slower movong car and it would've been far less fatal. Brutal.
This may sound cliche, but it's true, If you've never been under the grip of a substance to this extent, you have zero idea how much it takes over your life.
I came away thinking her actions were the result of marital problems between her and her husband that reached a tragic point.
The final scene is horrific. It was a great documentary but as a few here have said-I actually recommend not watching it because the ending will tattoo your brain permanently.
The “Paradise Lost” HBO documentary about the children who were killed and the wrongfully accused teens is similar. I honestly started to watch it because I had heard good things and I couldn’t get through the first five minutes. I wished I never saw it. I have children and it was something I’ll never forget-painful and sad and I had to turn it off.