US News

DEAD DRUNK KIN’S ‘NUMB’SKULL PLOY

Anbesol caused the wrong-way DWI crash on the Taconic State Parkway that killed eight people.

That’s the absurd explanation the dead drunken driver’s family lawyer is now giving.

It’s the latest in a laundry list of ridiculous theories media-hound attorney Dominic Barbara and the late Diane Schuler’s husband, Daniel, are using to explain away why Diane, 36, had a sky-high 0.19 blood alcohol content.

“She took Anbesol for her toothache, that’s what caused it,” Barbara said, insisting that the safe, over-the-counter drug — used to ease minor tooth and gum pain — causes false positives on alcohol tests. “Look it up on the Web!”

The Westchester DA’s autopsy found six grams of undigested alcohol in her stomach — the equivalent of 10 shots of vodka — and evidence of recent marijuana use.

“There was no alcohol abuse. There’s no way in the world she’s an alcoholic,” Barbara added emphatically.

Barbara’s latest theory was immediately shot down by toxicology expert Michael Baden, New York City’s former chief medical examiner.

“There is a tiny bit of alcohol in Anbesol, but it’s a different type of alcohol than what you’d find in vodka and hard liquor — that’s ethyl alcohol,” Baden told The Post.

“The alcohol in the mixture she allegedly took for her tooth would be benzyl. The toxicology reports are straightforward, and it would be extremely unlikely that ethyl alcohol would be improperly identified,” the former medical examiner said.

A spokesman for Wyeth, the company that manufactures Anbesol, confirmed that the product contains minimal amounts of benzyl alcohol, but added that it evaporates immediately after application.

Westchester toxicology reports indicate that Schuler, of West Babylon, LI, was exceptionally drunk on July 26 when she drove the wrong way on the Taconic.

Officials said they also recovered a broken, 1.75-liter bottle of vodka in Schuler’s vehicle. Toxicology reports also found 113 nanograms per milliliter of THC, the main chemical found in marijuana, in her bloodstream.

Schuler died in the crash along with her 2-year-old daughter, Erin, and three nieces Emma, 8, Alyson, 7, and Kate, 5.

Daniel Longo, 74, Guy Bastardi, 49, and Michael Bastardi, 81, were struck and killed in the SUV that Schuler hit head-on.

A lawyer for the Bastardi family found Barbara’s comments ludicrous.

“Who ingests the equivalent of 10 shots of vodka in the form of Anbesol? It’s a little dot you put on your tooth. That’s absurd,” said attorney Irving Anolik.

kieran.crowley@nypost.com