Plenty of stories in the region impact us in Rockland in a profound way. The July 26 crash on the Taconic State Parkway that killed eight is certainly one of them.

The news yesterday that the driver, Diane Schuler, was both drunk and stoned, brought back all that community talk. Every person I talked to — letter-writers I called, my neighbors, the woman in the supermarket line, the county legislator at last night’s Rockland County Legislature meeting — all commented on the shock, the anger, the betrayal so many felt hearing that  Diane Schuler had a BAC of .19 and high levels of THC in her bloodstream. (News story here.) She and her 2-year-old died, as did her three nieces. Her 5-year-old son was critically injured. Also killed were the three Yonkers men riding in the vehicle she slammed into, head-on.

Tomorrow at 1 p.m., The Journal News/LoHud.com Editorial Board will try and broaden the conversation with an Editorial Spotlight discussion on drunken driving in general, what this case may tell us in specific, and how we can, if we can, make our roads safer.  Joining us will be Rockland County Court Judge Charles Apotheker, who oversees the county’s Drug Court, which recently added those accused of DWI. Drug Court offers drug (and now DWI) offenders an opportunity to avoid jail by pleading guilty and entering into a rigorous program of treatment, counseling and monitoring. If they are successful, graduation from the program means the charges are either dropped or greatly reduced.

Also on the panel will be William Knack, a psychologist in Chappaqua who specializes in families and alcoholism, and Joan Bonsignore, executive director of the Westchester County chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. We are still inviting panelists, and I’ll update here as we confirm.

LoHud.com viewers can contribute questions via Cover It Live, to the right of the Livestream video.

JOURNAL NEWS FILE PHOTO: Flowers and a small wooden cross rest near the accident scene on the Taconic State Parkway on July 28, two days after the crash that killed 8.