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Hudson River suicide mom LaShanda Armstrong asks "forgive me please" in last Facebook post

Hudson River suicide mom LaShanda Armstrong asks "forgive me please" in last Facebook post
LaShanda Armstrong Personal Photo

(CBS/WCBS) NEWBURGH, N.Y. - LaShanda Armstrong, the New York mother who drowned herself and three of her children, left a chilling goodbye on Facebook just minutes before she drove her minivan into the Hudson River Tuesday.

Pictures: Mom drives into river, kills 3 kids, 1 escapes

"I'm so sorry everyone forgive me please for what I'm gonna do.... This Is It!!!!" the message, posted on Armstrong's Facebook page at 7:13 p.m. Tuesday from a BlackBerry, said.

Relatives of Armstrong told CBS affiliate WCBS she was suffering from paranoia before the tragedy.

"I'm still hurting. I will be forever hurting for the rest of my life," Datrice Armstrong, LaShanda's mother, told WCBS.

Police said Armstrong loaded her four children into the family minivan Tuesday night and intentionally drove it into the Hudson River. She drowned, along with her 11-month-old daughter Laianna and two of her sons, 5-year-old Lance and 2-year-old Landon.

"I can't hear nothing no more from them. I can't see them no more. I can't hold them no more. I can't do none of that," said Datrice.

The lone survivor, 10-year-old LaShaun, was also in the van but was able to escape through a window. He swam to shore and flagged down a passing car, giving the driver a chilling account of what happened.

"Before she went into the water, she managed to get into the backseat and held all the kids at once and said, 'If we're going to die, we're going to die together'," said Good Samaritan Meave Ryan.

On Thursday, the 10-year-old went to play as his family tried to keep his mind off the utter horror of Tuesday night.

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