It took Theresa Gagnon a few days to find the right words.
After learning that her younger brother, Michael Gagnon, had been accused of killing a Parkville woman and four children in an accident Sunday on an Ohio highway, his sister took pen to paper.
Her aim, she said yesterday from her home in Muskegon, Mich., was to express to everyone concerned - especially Daniel G. Griffin Jr., who lost his wife, two children and two stepchildren - how deeply her family regretted what had occurred.
"We're sorry that it took so long, but we didn't know the words to say," said Gagnon, 25, her voice hushed, after sending The Sun a statement from her "close and once happy family."
In the statement, she expressed remorse for the tragedy that took the lives of Bethany Griffin, 36; Jordan Griffin, 10; Vadi Griffin, 8 weeks; Lacie Burkman, 7; and Haley Burkman, 10, as they headed home after Christmas. Two other children survived.
Police arrested Michael Gagnon, 24, upon his release from a Toledo hospital, where he had been treated for minor injuries, and charged him with five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide. Gagnon, who was jailed in lieu of $1.25 million bail, was found to have had a blood-alcohol level at the time of the accident three times the legal limit.
"Our brother cannot apologize in person to everyone that has been affected, but we promise that we will do that for him," Gagnon's sister wrote in her family's statement. "Although our thoughts and prayers will always be with our son and brother, please understand that my dearest sympathies, thoughts, and prayers, and undivided attention extends to all family members, friends and individuals that have been touched by this tragic situation."
Theresa Gagnon said she was writing not only on behalf of her brother, Michael, but for her parents, Michael and Clara Gagnon; her sister, Savannah, 19; and her brother Samuel, 21. The two brothers worked in construction, and their mother occasionally as a beautician.
"This is affecting our family and everyone around us," she said in the phone interview. Her 48-year-old father worked for the Ford Motor Co., but was forced to retire after injuring his back in 2003, she said, and things got tough financially for the family.
"My brother Michael would give us a little money here for the bills," said Theresa Gagnon, who moved back home after her father's injury. "He'd help us here to make sure we had the things we needed."
