Angela Maher grew up in a close-knit family in Scottsdale, Arizona. On July 29, 1994, Angela was home from college to celebrate her mother’s birthday. At 10:00 PM she left the house to pick up a friend who needed a ride. Around the same time, 31-year-old Gloria Schulze was leaving a local bar. Moments later, the paths of these two strangers, Gloria Schulze and Angela Maher, would collide. Angela’s mother, Rose Marie Maher, was devastated when she received the news:
“There was a knock at the door. It was the police officers. And they said there had been an accident. And my question was, was my daughter ok? And they said no.”
Gloria drunk driving a van onto the roof of Angelas car
Schluze was drunk when she crashed into Angela
Angela had suffered massive blunt-force trauma to her head. By the time paramedics were able to cut her out of the car, it was too late. Gloria Schulze survived. Although she sustained a broken jaw, she was lucid enough to be questioned at the scene. Tests later revealed traces of marijuana in Schulze’s system and a blood alcohol content of point-one-five, nearly double the legal limit. The tragic irony of Angela’s death is that she was active in the crusade against drinking and driving. According to her brother, Donald, Angela helped establish a chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving:
“What’s really an awful irony is the night my sister was hit, she was on her way to pick up a friend who had called from a bar here in Phoenix for a ride home. My sister felt strongly enough that if she knew she was going out with friends and that they were going to drink, she would not drink so she could drive everybody home and make sure that everybody got home safe and sound.”
Gloria Schulze in a cour room while the Judge offers a plea bargain
Schulze was offered a plea bargain
On September 6, 1994, Gloria Schulze was arraigned on charges of manslaughter and reckless endangerment. Schulze was represented by a prominent attorney experienced in handling drunk driving cases. To the Mahers’ dismay, Gloria Schulze was released without being required to post bond. The judge, however, did stipulate that Schulze submit to drug testing three times a week and that she report to the court by phone once a week. It was the beginning of months of frustration for Angela’s family. Gloria Schulze’s attorney received six trial postponements. Schulze was also be permitted to leave the state on three separate occasions, despite the prosecutor’s objections.
Students holding red balloons at a Students Against Drunk Driving rally
Students carry on Angela’s work
Finally, more than a year after Angela Maher’s death, Gloria Schulze was offered a plea-bargain arrangement. If Schulze waived her right to a trial and pleaded guilty to the reckless endangerment and manslaughter charges, she would serve a reduced sentence. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for September 15, 1995, a day Rose Marie Maher will always remember:
“When I didn’t see her in the courtroom, all I could think of was where was she? Had she skipped? We discovered that she had missed six drug testings. And then to find out the last time that she called in was the end of August or the first of September. She could have called in from anywhere.”