Baltimore Ravens All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis knew 10-year-old La'Shaun Armstrong could use a helping hand.
Armstrong was left alone after his mother, 25-year-old Lashanda Armstrong, drove her van and four children into the Hudson River in Newburgh, N.Y. on April 12, killing all but La'Shaun.
La'Shaun escaped through a van window and was rescued by a diver who saw him in distress in the waters.
"We are human and to hear that story ... as soon as I heard it, I was like, 'I need to find him.' Nobody is supposed to walk through life alone with that, especially being 10 years old," Lewis told the *New York Daily News* on Tuesday at the Chelsea Piers Bowling Complex, where the 12-time Pro Bowl player met with La'Shaun and his grandmother Datrice Armstrong and great-uncle, Cedric Armstrong as part of a United Athletes Foundation charity event.
Lewis spent time with La'Shaun, teaching him to bowl in an effort to take his mind off the passing of his mother and three half-siblings, ages 5, 2 and 11 months.
Lewis, a veteran of 15 NFL seasons with the Ravens, told the newspaper that stepping into the boy's life for just a moment wouldn't do him justice.
"Probably in his lonely times, you know that he's going to think about it. He's going to miss his mom, his other family members. Like I told his grandmother, I don't want to come into his life for a phase. I want to be in his life forever," Lewis said.
