‘Chaos and carnage’: Four kids killed by out-of-control 4WD
The man behind the wheel of a car that ploughed through seven children, killing four, was allegedly way over the legal blood alcohol limit.
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WARNING: Distressing
An alleged drunk driver has been charged with 20 offences related to the horror smash in Sydney which left four children dead and three others injured.
Samuel William Davidson, 29-year-old, was allegedly behind the wheel of the out-of-control 4WD which ploughed into the group walking along Bettington Road in Oatlands, near Parramatta, last night at about 8pm.
The man, who was uninjured, was breath-tested following the incident and returned a reading of 0.150, three times above the legal limit.
Davidson’s case was heard on Sunday at the Parramatta Bail Court, according to AAP, but he did not appear and did not apply for bail, which was formally refused by magistrate John McIntosh.
His long list of charges include four counts of manslaughter, four counts of dangerous driving occasioning death as well as grievous bodily harm, drink driving, and driving through a red traffic light.
Siblings Antony, 13, Angelina, 12 and Sienna Abdallah, 9 were killed in the crash with their cousin Veronique Sakr, 11.
Daniel Abdallah’s three children were killed in the horrific incident and on Sunday morning he fronted cameras and pleaded with drivers to be more careful.
“Yesterday, I lost three of my children,” the tearful father of six said.
“I had a cousin, Bridget, she lost her daughter as well. I don’t know what to say. I’m numb, probably that’s how I feel at the moment.
“All I just want to say is please, drivers, be careful. These kids were just walking innocently, enjoying each others’ company, and this morning I woke up – I have lost three kids.”
“Please, just, make sure you love your loved ones, your kids especially.”
Mr Abdallah’s wife, Leila, was pictured at the scene on Sunday morning, tearfully paying tribute to her children
The 29-year-old alleged driver was taken into custody at the scene on Saturday night where he was subjected to a breath analysis.
He was then taken to Westmead Hospital for further testing and was this morning charged with multiple offences related to the incident.
NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Jason Joyce told reporters at the scene last night the families were “obviously very distraught”.
“In the circumstances we can’t provide much information to them at this stage so that’s difficult for them, but we’re trying to give them as much support as we can,” he said.
“A number of family members are at the hospital and we’re trying to help them through this really difficult time.”
NSW Ambulance Superintendent Andrew McAlpine said approximately 18 paramedics and a number of doctors attended after receiving reports of “a number of pedestrians hit by a vehicle”.
“When the first crews arrived on scene they were confronted with carnage,” he said.
“Very, very difficult scene with obviously a lot of chaos. It’s incredibly hard for all the emergency services, notwithstanding the loss the families have sustained.
“It’s very, very difficult for police, fire rescue, paramedics to be confronted with such chaos and such carnage.”
He said NSW Ambulance had “a number of support systems we’ve put in place this evening and that’ll be ongoing through the coming week” to ensure staff were being looked after.
TRIBUTES POUR IN FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
Mr Abdallah said he and his wife Leila’s children Antony, 13, Angelina, 12 and Sienna, 9, had “gone to a better a place”.
The father told reporters that Angelina was “my little helper … anything I needed, she had my back.”
His son, Antony, was a “very handsome boy” who was a passionate basketball player. Only yesterday morning had he told his father of his desire to play to honour the recently killed Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant.
“Actually he woke up that morning and said, ‘We’re going to play this game for Kobe’.”
And of his daughter, Sienna, he described as “my little diva, little actress”.
Community groups have flooded social media with an outpouring of grief following the tragic incident.
“Tonight before you sleep we ask that you remember in your prayers a young Maronite family from our Parish who has been devastatingly affected by a serious accident,” said a post on the Living Maronite Facebook page. “We keep them all in our prayers.”
Grieving father Danny Abdallah has described his 3 beautiful children who were killed by an alleged drunk driver at #Oatlands. 9 y/o Sienna, the family “diva & actress†... 12 y/o Angelina, Danny’s “little helper†and 13 y/o Antony, who “loved his basketballâ€. 💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/itso35OLLJ
— Tiffiny Genders (@tiffgenders) February 2, 2020
People steadily bringing flowers, this is an extremely close knit community. #oatlands @sunriseon7 @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/l7lfSx7GVJ
— Samantha Brett (@samanthabrett) February 1, 2020
Professional boxer Bilal “Billy” Dib told news.com.au his niece is a close school friend with Sienna and said the community is heartbroken by the accident.
“Everyone’s in a mess,” he said.
“It’s so tragic, I can’t comprehend what the father’s feeling.
“Their father is an honourable man and these kids, from my understanding, were just beautiful kids.
“Our hearts are with them.”
One witness at the scene later posted to Facebook: “I’m still traumatised with what I saw”.
A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman told The Daily Telegraph on Saturday paramedics treated seven patients but confirmed four had died, while a 10-year-old boy had sustained a critical head injury.
“A 10-year-old female has been transported to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead with pain to her arm and lacerations to head,” she said. “A 13-year-old female who also went to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead with shoulder and hand pain and abrasions to legs.”
Davidson is next due to face Parramatta Local Court on April 2.
frank.chung@news.com.au and james.hall1@news.com.au
—with AAP
Originally published as ‘Chaos and carnage’: Four kids killed by out-of-control 4WD