10-Year-Old Escaped Sinking Minivan, "My Mommy Just Drove The Car In The Water"

Lashanda Armstrong (right) and her children, 2-year-old Lance (back), 5-year-old Landen (front center) and 10-year-old Lashaun (left), 11-month-old Lainaina (inset, upper left corner). Only Lashaun survived.

The tragic drowning murder-suicide of a woman and her three children in the Hudson River grows as it turns out her 10-year-old son managed to open a window and climb out of the sinking minivan. But Lashanda Armstrong, 25, allegedly told little Lashaun and his young siblings, ages 11 months to 5 years old, "If I'm going to die, you're going to die with me." Lashaun Armstrong also told the authorities that she grabbed his pants leg, told him, "I made a mistake," and let him go.

Lashaun swam to the shore and was trying to stop drivers on a Newburgh road and, finally, Meave Ryan stopped for him. She told the NY Times, "He was screaming for help. He said, ‘My mommy just drove the car in the water.’" Ryan, who picked up Lance, drove over to the boat ramp to see if she could see the car, and then took Lashaun to the fire department.

Ms. Ryan said that La’Shaun had told her why his mother was so upset. “There was an argument about cheating, that his stepfather was cheating on his mother,” Ms. Ryan said. On the short ride from their apartment in Newburgh to the boat ramp, La’Shaun told Ms. Ryan, his mother had called an older relative and said, “I’m sorry, I’m going to do something crazy, you have to forgive me.”

Ms. Ryan said La’Shaun had told her that the call had ended with the older relative saying she was going to dial 911.

When the authorities found the minivan, Armstrong, 5-year-old Landen Pierre, 2-year-old Lance Pierre, and 11-month-old Lainaina Pierre were all dead.

Armstrong had a tumultuous relationship with the father of the deceased children, Jean Pierre, 26, and apparently the couple just had a vicious fight, which prompted calls to the police, just before Armstrong killed herself and children. The couple didn't live together, leaving Armstrong to raise her four children mostly on her own. The Times Herald-Record says, "Desiree Watson, owner and director of Young & Unique Christian Childcare in Newburgh, said all four of Armstrong's children had attended her program. Armstrong had recently told staff that Pierre was no longer allowed to pick up the children, which he rarely did anyway."

The Times spoke to a friend of Armstrong's, "'From the outside, it looked perfect,' said Sharon Ramirez, 22, a neighbor and friend of Ms. Armstrong. 'But there were a lot of things going on. They had a rocky relationship.' Ms. Ramirez was certain of that because, she said, she had carried on a three-month relationship with Mr. Pierre last year, when Ms. Armstrong was pregnant with Lainaina."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on April 14, 2011 10:32 AM

Comments [rss]

OvaltineJenkins

Typical female driver. When will we learn?

crixty

So the kid didn't try to save his siblings?

Nikki Thibbs

Sad part is that she had the balls to say it to the newspaper/police/news that she carried on an affair with the father like it was something as innocent as going to a family picnic. It's jackasses like this that make people not trust other people and it leads to tragedies like this. My condolences to the child, hopefully he doesn't grow up to be a miserable person forever burdened by this or we might be seeing him on the news for running over the neighbor and the father.

Kiki Valentine

this actually just made me cry.

OvaltineJenkins

Get a grip.

Bambi Blue

Troll more.

evbo

Fucking beyond devastating. That poor little boy. I don't think any amount of counseling will ever help him get over this. I hope he can at least learn to cope with what's happened so that he'll be able to live a semblance of a normal life.

Steven Harris

This is devastating.

RabbiLaFunque

Shudda sliced up that cheatin bastard Jean Pierre and her backstabbing ho friend Sharon Ramirez instead. Gotta think these things through, ladies.

OvaltineJenkins

That's the typical reaction in neighborhoods of that complexion, but do we really need to encourage that type of criminal behavior?

JarekAF

Poor Kid. Look how he happy he looks with his siblings in that picture. And now he has to live the rest of his life alone, abandoned. He had brothers and sisters and now he's an orphan. He's going to live the rest of his life with this. Sad.

JarekAF

http://www.inmotiononline.org/...

Domestic violence support.

blkisstillnewprez

stay classy, Ms. Ramirez.

freddynyc

Dirty sp** whores - good for only one thing...

blkisstillnewprez

stay strong, freddy, you'll get over her... hopefully

cmdrogogov

...and they want to de-fund planned parenthood and social services.

Len_Drexler

You regularly chime in with this one line social commentary. What is your point? We live in New York, not South Dakota. You can't force people to use family planning services. This woman was 25 and had four kids, including a 10 year old.

69GeorgeWBush69

i dont think cmd is saying she should have been forced to use birth control, but that PP and other orgs, if given support, can help make things like family planning and counseling more culturally pervasive.

I think your last sentence says it all. it's possible if she had used those resources, she could have bore less of the burden that potentially led her to sink her minivan.

FU Boy

Not to detract from the tragedy, or the importance of social services as you mentioned, but there's a bigger problem than just accessible services.

Think of the society they came from (not national "America" but the local community). "it looked perfect" was what a friend thought - that 'it' being a single 25 year old woman with 4 children, her first at 15, and a largely absent father. How, in any way, is that perfect?

I think the failure here is not the services provided, but guidance to a young person who may not have even known the services were available.