VICTIM'S GRANDSON EXPRESSES REMORSE

PITCAIRN -- Michael F. Lewis's life was pocked with drug use, failed
rehab stints and run-ins with the law, but his grandmother -- with whom
he lived on and off -- always seemed willing to give him another chance
to turn himself around.

Irene D. Layboult's chances of seeing that turnaround were erased,
however, when she died in a pickup crash with her drugged grandson
behind the wheel on a Saturday night in July. Why she was in the truck
that night is something Mr. Lewis and other family members debate. He
says his grandmother wanted to take a ride in her husband's truck to
relieve stress after an argument at her home with relatives. Others
say Mrs. Layboult would go with Mr. Lewis when she let him use the
truck because of fears he might not bring it back right away.

What isn't in dispute is the 70-year-old Pitcairn resident cared for
her troubled grandchild. And her hopes he would one day shake his bad
habits were not realized in her lifetime.

"All my mother did was love that child too much," said Vicki L.
Layboult, Mrs. Layboult's daughter. "My mother was a very special
person and didn't deserve to go this way."

About a mile from her home on July 18, Mr. Lewis apparently fell
asleep behind the wheel and crashed into a utility pole on Garrison
Road. Police said he was impaired by drugs and had an open beer in the
truck, though no trace of alcohol showed up on a test given to him the
night of the crash. He is charged with vehicular manslaughter and
awaits a court hearing that could land him in prison.

"I am very remorseful," Mr. Lewis said. "I would trade my own life for
hers to bring her back. It is killing me inside. I loved the woman."

Family members aren't buying the remorse. They say they have heard
such claims too many times from Mr. Lewis over the years.

"Mike has been a lost soul for the last 10 years," Vicki Layboult
said. "He used to be good kid; then he would do things with drugs and
alcohol. I don't know him anymore. I couldn't tell you how many times
he has been sent to rehab. Not a week later after he's out, he's off
doing it again."

Mark Trombley, Mrs. Layboult's nephew, said he thinks the remorse Mr.
Lewis is expressing is designed to help him when the case comes up in
court.

"He's trying to get people out there to feel sorry for Mike Lewis,"
Mr. Trombley said. "He knows how to use the court system. The guy is
out of control."

Mr. Lewis has been to five drug rehabilitation programs over the past
few years, but was booted each time. He successfully completed his
first rehab program after the accident.

"In retrospect, I wish I had completed them," Mr. Lewis said. "Relapse
is a process. Very few people make it the first time."

He's also had several brushes with St. Lawrence County law
enforcement, some stemming from his drug and alcohol addictions.

In November 2005, he was accused by Gouverneur village police of
choking his mother, Patricia I. Lewis, and resisting arrest.

He also has been arrested on charges of sexual abuse and child
endangerment for an incident involving two girls in December 2005. The
charges later were dropped.

He was convicted a few years ago in Gouverneur Town Court on a reduced
charge of driving while ability impaired. He was stopped in October
2003 for driving recklessly, then fighting with police after being
pulled over. He registered a 0.14 percent blood alcohol content. Under
state law, a BAC of 0.08 percent or more constitutes
intoxication.

"I have been heavily addicted to drugs," Mr. Lewis said. "I have been
through the wringer of drugs. I have done the vast majority of them. I
am not proud of that."

About a month after the fatal accident, he reportedly smashed an
aunt's window with a rock in the village of Gouverneur. He was charged
with felony criminal mischief.

Mr. Lewis said he was upset over a family argument and tossed several
rocks through a few windows. Family members said his aunt, Terri J.
Layboult, didn't want him on her property since the accident and he
became upset about that decision.

"That's not showing remorse for his grandmother," Mr. Trombley
said.

Family members simply want Mr. Lewis to steer clear of
them.

"We don't want to have anything to do with him," said Kelly Layboult,
Mrs. Layboult's daughter. "None of the family does."

Mr. Lewis, 30, of 65 Austin St., Gouverneur, faces charges of
second-degree vehicular manslaughter, driving while ability impaired
by drugs, failure to keep right, consuming alcohol in a vehicle,
speeding and not wearing a seat belt, state police said. He waived a
preliminary hearing last week in Fowler Town Court and will let a
grand jury hear the case.

Mr. Lewis admitted he took a muscle relaxant a few hours before the
accident that killed his grandmother. He said he was prescribed the
muscle relaxant after having back surgery a few years ago. A
toxicology report found he had drugs in his system at the time of the
accident, but state police investigators declined to reveal the medication.

Mr. Lewis said he also was drinking alcohol that night, including some
while driving the pickup. He said he doesn't remember crashing into
the telephone pole because he fell asleep.

"I was overexerted that day. I did too much work," he said. "I had a
beer about an hour before, then a few sips from a can I opened up in
the car. I had a few sips of beer about 20 to 30 seconds before the
crash."

Mrs. Layboult, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, hit her head in the
accident, state police Investigator Peter T. Kraengel said. Emergency
responders had to help her out of the car and into the ambulance.

She was taken to E.J. Noble Hospital, Gouverneur, then was transferred
to Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, where she died the next day.

Family members described Mrs. Layboult as a homemaker who raised seven
daughters. She enjoyed talking with neighbors on the phone, spending
time with family and collecting Avon figurines.

"She was the heart of our family," Vicki Layboult said. "Our family is
torn apart, because the heart of the family is gone."

She said her father, Floyd, is heartbroken over the loss of his wife.
Family members have helped fill the void by recently surprising him on
his birthday with a puppy named Bow. The family dog, Elmo, also was
killed in the accident.

"The dog has helped him smile a little," Mr. Trombley said. "But Floyd
hasn't been the same since the accident. He lost the love of his life.
He worshiped the ground she walked on."