It was meant to be an ordinary school pick-up, like any other day.
But as Sok Ram was pushing a pram after collecting her eldest child from school yesterday, an SUV struck the family metres from their home in Cabramatta, in Sydney's southwest.
Onlookers rushed to help tip the car and free five-year-old Katherine and 14-month-old Harry, who were taken to hospital, but couldn't be revived.
Still reeling from the loss, the 33-year-old mother and father, Vundy Tha, 42, have made a remarkable choice.
Standing outside their family home — as trucks and cars sped past — they've shared that they hold no animosity to the driver, according to the ABC.
"I can't describe it, last night I couldn't sleep. Even the driver, I forgive him already," Vundy told the publication.
"Nothing can change, you know? Nothing can change. I couldn't get my kids back."
Sok said the tragedy still didn't feel real.
"Two of them gone, my kids are gone," she told AAP, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I can't believe it. Last night I felt very cold. My heart and my body — I am hurt everywhere."
The mother told 9News she wished she had been struck instead.
"Everyone tried to save them but … they're not alive, they're not alive. I can't believe it," she said.
"I think about when the car come, I wish it hit me and not my babies."
A 56-year-old man who was driving the car was uninjured and taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
Katherine was in her first year of kindergarten and was due to receive an award from her school for her reading and writing achievements on Friday.
Sok said her daughter was a generous child who did not want gifts but just wanted to be surrounded by her family.
"I gave my kids everything, the big one (Katherine) she said 'Mummy and family more important than iPad'," she told AAP, as she was comforted by her husband and a friend.
She said her daughter had dreams of growing up to become an artist or a teacher, while her toddler son — who had just learned how to walk — loved kicking a small soccer ball around.
Vundy was at work when his wife called him and told him of the accident that claimed his children's lives.
"In my mind, I thought it was only one kid but it was both of them because my son, the little one, always wants to come with us in the pram," he told AAP.
"They are beautiful kids."
He explained the car had suddenly stopped, giving Sok the impression she could cross the street safely, but then it struck them, trapping the children underneath.
Paramedics treated the children at the scene and they were rushed to hospital in a critical condition but died shortly after, police said.
A number of witnesses tried to rescue the children but were unsuccessful, Acting Superintendent Timothy Calman said on Wednesday.
''We've had a number of motorists that actually stopped and collectively have moved the vehicle onto its side, tipped the car over in order to get one of the children from underneath the vehicle, and other bystanders have assisted with CPR," he said.
Grandmother Pauline Rio, 60, used to walk sometimes with Sok and the children on her way to pick up her six-year-old grandson from the same school.
She laid a floral wreath comprised of yellow flowers that she arranged on a table outside her home metres away from the crash site.
"I feel sorry for the family and especially the kids because the daughter goes to school together with my grandson," she said.
NSW Premier, Chris Minns, said everyone was heartbroken by the loss of the two young lives.
"This is one of those tragedies that hit the community incredibly hard," he said.
Vundy, a stoic Cambodian migrant, arrived in Australia 23 years ago.
He settled with his family in Cabramatta, which is one of the most diverse local government areas in the country and home to several Southeast Asian communities.
NSW Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
-WITH APP
Feature image: AAP.
Raffaella Ciccarelli
News and Weekend Editor
No Comments
Be the first to leave a comment