The family of some of the victims are mourning on the 10th anniversary of the Taconic Tragedy.
Members of the Bastardi family gathered at St. John The Baptist Church in Yonkers today to remember loved ones who died in the crash.
Surviving members, including Michael Jr. and sisters Roseann and Margie, hold a special Mass for their father and brother every year at the church. They say it’s still difficult. “We’re doing OK. It’s tough. Every now and then it’s tough, especially this time of year, but we have moved on,” says Michael Jr.
FULL VIDEO: Interview with the Bastardi family:
It was Sunday, July 26, 2009 when 36-year-old Diane Schuler, of Long Island, drove her minivan the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway. Schuler, driving with five small children in the van, slammed head on into a Chevrolet Trailblazer causing a fiery crash.
Three men in the blazer, all from Yonkers, 43-year-old Guy Bastardi, his 81-year-old father Michael Bastardi, and a family friend, 72-year-old Daniel Longo, were killed. Four of the five children, along with Schuler, also perished.
Schuler was later found to have the equivalent of 10 vodka drinks in her system, with 6 more grams of alcohol in her stomach that had yet to be metabolized. Reports also showed high levels of marijuana that could have been smoked anywhere from an hour to 15 minutes before the crash.
When asked if they could forgive Schuler, the family nodded and said, “It’s very hard but I have, we pray for her. He (Michael Jr.) doesn’t. He has a hard time with it,” say the sisters.
“It’s something I can’t forgive,” says Michael Jr.