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Newburgh, NY – Police in Newburgh, New York are trying to determine what caused a mother to drive a vehicle filled with her children into the Hudson River Tuesday night. As WAMC's Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Greg Fry reports, whatever the cause, police say her actions were intentional...
The time line began at 7:43 PM, when Newburgh Police responded to 53 William Street in the city. Chief Michael Ferrara says they received a call concerning 25-year-old Lashandra Armstrong. When police arrived, no one was at Armstrong's second floor home.
That's because police say Armstrong and her four children, ages 11 months, 2, 5, and 10, were inside a vehicle, heading toward the Hudson River. At 7:50, Newburgh city firefighters saw the ten-year-old boy standing before them at their firehouse on Broadway in the city. Newburgh Fire Chief Michael Vatter says a passer-by brought the boy to the firehouse to explain that their mother drove their car into the river.
Emergency crews then went into action, trying to get to the river as quickly as possible. Vatter says Newburgh Police and Fire crews, along with a State Police helicopter, responded to the scene for what they believed, at the time, was a rescue.
The three children who died in the vehicle were the children of 26-year-old Jean Pierre. The ten-year-old boy has a different father, according to police. Chief Michael Ferrara did not release much information about the father at a news conference this morning. He did say that the man does not live at 53 William Street, and that there are no documented incidents of domestic violence at the house.
Ferrara says police know where the father is, and that investigators have spoken with the man. However, he would not say whether or not charges are coming, and says that's why their investigation continues at this time.
Vatter says the ten-year-old boy was understandably shaken when he arrived at the firehouse, and made no mention of an altercation at the home.
Newburgh's elected officials stood behind the city's fire and police chiefs this morning. Mayor Nicholas Valentine says this incident is a tragedy that is second-to-none. He said the incident will have a lasting effect on the city.
Autopsies are scheduled for today.