The father of three children who drowned when their mother drove their minivan into the Hudson River says he'll sue a New York city and county for $80 million.
Jean Pierre says the City of Newburgh should have had a barrier at its boat ramp, where Pierre's estranged girlfriend LaShanda Armstrong killed herself and three of her four children April 12, when she drove down the ramp and into the river, the (Middletown, N.Y.) Times Herald-Record reported Tuesday.
Pierre said Orange County should have known for months the children were in danger and the county Department of Child Protective Services had the responsibility to monitor Armstrong, 25, and the children after 2-year-old Landen Pierre was found Feb. 7, half-dressed and wandering the streets.
Pierre had been watching the boy that night and was arrested after police discovered he had left Landen alone while he went to a gas station.
A Newburgh judge later granted a temporary order of protection against Pierre on April 12, the day neighbors said they heard Pierre pounding on Armstrong's door and shouting at her from the sidewalk, less than an hour before Armstrong loaded the kids into the minivan.
Pierre has filed a notice of claim against the city and county for $40 million each.
Armstrong's aunt Angela Gilliam said she was outraged by Pierre's high-dollar claims.
"Someone should file a claim against him," Gilliam said. "Forty million? Are you kidding me?"
