Greenacre school crash: teacher on first day at school
THE teacher in charge of Banksia Street Public School’s 3T when a SUV came crashing into the classroom, killing two boys, was a casual employee on her first day at the school. The driver, pictured, has been hit with fresh charges.
NSW
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THE teacher in charge of Banksia Street Public School’s 3T when a two-tonne Toyota Kluger came crashing into the classroom, killing two boys and seriously injuring three girls, was a casual employee on her first day at the school.
The Daily Telegraph understands the teacher, who her Year 3 students called Miss Jessica, was treated for shock after Tuesday’s horrifying incident.
“All the other teachers were gathered around her, telling her it’s not her fault,” said one witness to the tragedy.
It’s believed that the class’ regular teacher was at the school but not with her class because she was doing other duties that day.
Police have laid further charges against the driver of the SUV that crashed into a Sydney classroom, killing two young boys and injuring three girls.
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Maha Al-Shennag had already been charged over the deaths of two eight-year-old boys.
The 52-year-old has now also been charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and cause actual bodily harm by misconduct.
Police will allege the additional charges relate to injuries sustained by children who were taken to hospital.
Grieving family members have demanded to know how an SUV came to be on school grounds before it crashed into a classroom, killing their “beautiful child” along with another eight-year-old boy.
Relatives yesterday questioned how the Toyota Kluger was able to access the Banksia Road Public School carpark before the accident as entry to non-staff vehicles is ordinarily restricted by a gate.
Police are also investigating whether a stray water bottle may have caused Al-Shennag to become distracted moments before the vehicle crashed through the timber wall of the Year 3 classroom.
Two eight-year-old best mates — from Panania and Greenacre — perished and three female pupils were seriously injured, leaving parents struggling to deal with the shock, fear and grief of their bewildered schoolmates.
As the Panania boy’s soccer team laid a jersey signed with messages of love and grief at the gates of Banksia Road Public School yesterday his devastated mother was coming to terms with her loss.
“He was just a beautiful child,” she said. “We need our time.”
She said the other boy killed was a “good friend” of her son’s.
Mourning has continued at the school, with students, teachers and members of the community laying flowers in remembrance of the two boys.
This morning, the teachers’ carpark was reopened to staff with one teacher directing traffic on the road.
Rashani Uddin, whose son Zaryab is in kindergarten at the school, returned for the first time since the accident today.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” she said.
“You never expect it. I feel so sorry for those two little boys. Even the woman driving, she has kids at the school too. It’s not like she meant to do it.”
Hanka Jumah and her kindergarten son Ahmed laid flowers at the impromptu memorial, describing the accident as heartbreaking.
“It’s just unbelievable,” said the Greenacre mother.
“As a community, we have to stick together and support one another.”
The grandfather of one of the dead boys, who said his grandson “loved everyone”, said he was trying to be “sympathetic” to the driver but was frustrated a gate at the Greenacre school had been opened.
“We are trying to be sympathetic to the mother who did this but gates were closed you don’t open because your kid’s late for school,” he posted online.
Crash investigators will try to determine whether Al-Shennag was reaching down to retrieve a water bottle when the tragedy unfolded. They will also examine data from Al-Shennag’s mobile phone and mechanical data from the two-tonne SUV.
Police have still not heard the driver’s full version of events. After speaking to officers at the scene, she refused to be formally interviewed while in custody at Bankstown Police Station.
She was charged with two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death before the new charges and was bailed by police to appear in court later this month.
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The shell-shocked parents of the Greenacre boy attempted to find some comfort in numbers yesterday.
Relatives and friends sobbed and embraced one another as they gathered at a home in Greenacre. Lakemba MP Jihad Dib also arrived to show his respects.
Two of the three girls seriously injured in the crash, including eight-year-old twins, have been released from hospital. The the third girl remains in a stable condition.
The aunt of one of the girls has started a petition to ban cars from public school grounds.
“How do you tell an eight-year-old that their friends have died? My niece witnessed that, and she’s been talking about it,” she said.
“You don’t think something will happen when you drop your kid at school. Whether it’s an accident or not, a vehicle shouldn’t be on school grounds at all.
“If the school was designed around safety of children, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Grief-stricken members of the Panania boy’s Padstow Hornets Under 8s soccer team paid tribute to their teammate.
Team manager Lisa Campbell said the boy was a “bundle of joy” to coach and described him as someone willing to give everything a go.
“We are all in shock and we can’t believe it. He was lovely, he was such a great kid — an absolute little superstar on the field,” Ms Campbell said.
“We’ve all grown up with him. He was into everything — whatever was going on, he would join in.”
Teddy bears, flowers and notes were left at a makeshift shrine to the boys. “
A good heart has stopped beating, a good soul ascended to heaven,” one note read.
Sally Sleiman, whose son Joe, 8, goes to the school, said it was widely known only teachers were allowed to drive into the school.
“It’s for teachers only. Everyone knew that,” she said.
One of the boys’ classmates said: “I’m really my sad that my friends have gone.”
Local sweet shop owner Nadia Abdul Rahman told reporters the two boys were “absolute angels”.
“The little shy one holding the money in his hand, wanting to pick a lolly and he was so embarrassed about to ask how much it is.”
TRAGEDY’S DRIVER WAS DEVOTED TO CHARITY
Al-Shennag spent her life helping others.
According to neighbours, the 52-year-old widowed mother of four is very charity minded.
“She’s a darling. She was so kind to us when we moved in, she bought us food and welcomed us to the street. She’s always so nice to everyone around her. I think she’s very religious, and gives a lot of herself to charity,” one neighbour in her Punchbowl apartment block said.
“She is always nice to everyone, especially the older people.”
Al-Shennag, who lost her husband six months ago, is a well-known member of the Banksia Street school community and keenly involved with her children’s education.
While she awaits her court date on two charges of dangerous driving occasioning death, Al-Shennag is staying with relatives.
Her lawyer Nick Hanna said she was deeply sorry for the loss and hurt suffered by families.
A RETURN WRACKED WITH GRIEF
The principal of the Banksia Road Public School kept the facility open yesterday to support the community despite an offer from the NSW government to temporarily shut it in the wake of Tuesday’s crash.
Principal Hamish Woudsma ensured the Greenacre facility remained open yesterday, where nearly 90 brave students returned to class and 37 support teachers were hired to allow shocked staff time to grieve. There were also six specialist counsellors for children and a police chaplain on site.
Education Secretary Mark Scott yesterday wrote to 2200 schools around the state pledging the department’s full support for the Banksia Road community in its grief.
“It had been the most devastating day at this wonderful school. What started out as a happy spring morning turned to devastation and then terrible sadness with news of the loss of two Year 3 boys,” Mr Scott said.
“In the face of the sudden and shocking destruction our colleagues were magnificent tending to the injured, caring for distraught children, looking after anxious parents.”
However, sources told The Daily Telegraph a ban on car parking for staff in government schools was unlikely and a mass program of installing safety bollards across the state was deemed to be impractical and unnecessary.
Originally published as Greenacre school crash: teacher on first day at school
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