The HBO Documentary Summer Series continues with “There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane,” a gripping documentary about the tragic 2009 deaths of Diane Schuler, her son, daughter, and three nieces. Their deaths were considered part of one of the worst automobile accidents in New York history, and the documentary seeks to find the real root behind the crash:
On Sunday, July 26, 2009, Diane Schuler left the campgrounds in upstate New York where she was vacationing with her family and set off towards home on Long Island, a drive she had made numerous times before. With her were five young children: her son, her daughter and three nieces. Four hours later, she drove the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway for nearly two miles – eventually crashing into an oncoming SUV,killing herself and seven others. One of the worst motor-vehicle accidents in New York State history, the tragedy quickly became national news and her actions on that day, and in the past, were thrust under a microscope in a desperate search for answers.
In the aftermath, Diane Schuler was portrayed as a reckless drunk and a mother who cracked. But was she the monster the public made her out to be? Or the perfect wife and mother described by so many who knew her?
Below is the documentary’s trailer. “There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane” premieres on HBO July 25 at 9 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. EST.
