Oatlands tragedy: Young crash survivors visit memorial after hospital release
The 10-year-old girl who survived a crash in Sydney’s northwest on Saturday night that killed four children has visited the site of the accident for the first time, as the huge outpouring of community grief and love continues.
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The 10-year-old girl who survived a crash on Saturday night that killed four children has visited the site of the incident for the first time.
Abdallah siblings Antony, 13, Angelina, 12, and Sienna, 8, and cousin Veronique Sakr, 11, died on Bettington Rd in Oatlands after being struck by a car, allegedly driven by a drunk driver.
The 10-year-old and a 13-year-old girl were injured in the crash but were discharged from Westmead Children’s Hospital on Tuesday.
At the memorial site this morning, a family spokesman told The Daily Telegraph the 13-year-old girl was conscious through the ordeal.
“(She) called her mother, who called Danny (the father of three children who died),” the spokesman said. “He got here before the ambulance did.”
He said today was the first time the 10-year-old survivor had visited the memorial on the site where the accident happened.
The right side of her face was swollen after receiving facial plastic surgery and stitches.
The family spokesman said the two girls survived the accident because their bodies want through an open fence next to the footpath they were walking along.
“They survived because the gate was open,” he said.
Danny Abdallah, the father of three children who died in the crash, also visited the site this morning with family members, sharing hugs in front of the flowers and tributes.
“They are trying to make sense of this and find any healing possible,” the spokesman for the 10-year-old’s family said.
“Visiting the site and seeing the love, care and support of the community.”
The spokesman said the family was struggling to make sense of the incident.
“To lose three kids, we’ve never heard of it — to see anyone suffer this way,” he said.
“You can only imagine, every day is like waking up to a nightmare, not waking up from a nightmare.”
A third child who was injured in the crash, a 10-year-old boy, remains in a critical condition in hospital.
The family spokesman said community condolences would be held Friday and Saturday with the funeral on Monday.
He said the children would most likely be buried at Rookwood Cemetery, in the Maronite section, next to their grandfather.
The horrific incident has affected the entire community, with strangers of the family visiting the crash site to lay flowers and pay their respects.
Harris Park resident and grandfather-of-eight Michael Grace has visited the site three times.
“I’ve been feeling it like I am a part of the family — it has moved me like that,” he said.
“They were so innocent to have their lives taken like this. It doesn't seem fair does it?”
Mother-of-two Simone Gantzias, who was visiting the site, said she was deeply affected by the incident.
“Every time I hear this story, I just cry,” she said.
“It’s just the most devastating thing that any family should have to go through.”
Police will allege Samuel Davidson, 29, was three times over the legal blood alcohol limit when his Mitsubishi ute mounted a kerb and struck the children.