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A funeral for three children who drowned when their suicidal mom drove them into the Hudson River turned into a shouting match yesterday when their deadbeat dad barred members of her grieving family from the somber service.
Angry shouts filled the air when mourners learned they weren’t welcome at the invitation-only ceremony for 5-year-old Landen, 2-year-old Lance and 11-month-old Lainaina.
The children perished April 12, when their mother, Lashanda Armstrong — after an argument with their father, Jean Pierre — drove to a boat ramp and sped into the chilly water in Newburgh.
Armstrong was buried last week during a separate ceremony after Pierre insisted that the mom and children spend eternity apart.
“This side of the family matters,” Armstrong’s cousin, Gwendolen Green shouted as she stormed out of the Alphonso E. Brown Funeral Home in Spring Valley. “It’s not fair. You know it’s wrong. That’s not the way to treat the family.”
Though it was Armstrong who sat behind the wheel of the sinking minivan, her relatives blamed Pierre for driving her over the edge with his alleged womanizing and abusive behavior.
Inside, mourners filed by tiny open white caskets that held the boys in dark suits, and the baby girl in a white dress. The only comfort for anguished family members was that there were only three coffins.
Ten-year-old Lashaun Armstrong managed to climb out a window before the van went under.
“The Pierre children are resting now,” said Armstrong’s aunt, Angela Gilliam. “They’re resting.”