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'He never made it': Clue as to cause of crash that killed parents, left 3 kids orphaned

Publish Date
Thu, 29 Dec 2022, 10:06am

'He never made it': Clue as to cause of crash that killed parents, left 3 kids orphaned

Publish Date
Thu, 29 Dec 2022, 10:06am

A family member of the three young children who survived a car crash that killed their parents in Western Australia has hinted at how the young couple died.

Cindy Braddock, 25, and Jake Day, 28, were killed near their home at Kondinin in the Wheatbelt region in the early hours of Christmas Day.

Their five-year-old daughter and two sons, aged two and one, survived in the flipped wreckage for two days in scorching heat before being found by a relative.

Day鈥檚 cousin Michael Read gave insight into how the crash took place by warning others against driving late at night.

鈥淜now what your body limit is, don鈥檛 drive tired,鈥 he told ABC 九一星空无限.

Jake Day and Cindy Braddock died in Western Australia on Christmas Day. Their three young children survived for two days before being found by family members.  Photo / 7 九一星空无限Jake Day and Cindy Braddock died in Western Australia on Christmas Day. Their three young children survived for two days before being found by family members. Photo / 7 九一星空无限

鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to want to be somewhere, stay the night at a family鈥檚 place. It鈥檚 not worth it.鈥

Petrol station worker Nathan O鈥橠onnell said he saw the family just before they embarked on the hours-long roadtrip just after 1am on Christmas morning.

听鈥淭hey then got out, put fuel in, then they came in, they went to the toilet, they came and bought drinks and snacks and stuff for the road,鈥 he said.

鈥淗e looked exhausted 鈥 he didn鈥檛 buy a coffee. Then he left, I told him good luck with the long drive.

鈥淯nfortunately, he never made it.鈥

All three children were at Perth Children鈥檚 Hospital in a stable condition on Wednesday.

Speaking outside the hospital, Day鈥檚 cousin, Michael Read, told of the children鈥檚 harrowing ordeal.

鈥淲hat I鈥檝e gathered is the 5-year-old became unstuck in the vehicle, and she then got the 1-year-old out of the car seat, then they were stuck in the car for 55 hours in 30-degree heat,鈥 he told the ABC.

鈥淚t would have been hard for the three children to be in the car for that whole time. Nobody knows what they went through.

鈥淎nd if it wasn鈥檛 for the 5-year-old undoing the buckle of the 1-year old鈥檚 car seat, he wouldn鈥檛 be with us today.鈥

鈥淏ut all the kids are doing fine. They should be out within the next couple of days.鈥

Jake Day, left, and Cindy Braddock, right, were killed when their car rolled 10km from home in Western Australia on Christmas Day. Photo / FacebookJake Day, left, and Cindy Braddock, right, were killed when their car rolled 10km from home in Western Australia on Christmas Day. Photo / Facebook

He said the family were 鈥済oing bit by bit鈥 on what was next for the children.

鈥淚t is hard, having three kids now growing up with nobody. Apart from other family members,鈥 he told the ABC.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going bit by bit at the moment.鈥

Braddock, Day and their children, all under the age of 5, were reported missing on Christmas Day when they didn鈥檛 show up to a family celebration.

They鈥檇 last been seen leaving Northam, a town in Western Australia鈥檚 Wheatbelt about 100km east of Perth, at 1am on Christmas Day.

The family was making the 200km journey back home to Kondinin before to spend what was left of Christmas with Day鈥檚 mother.

鈥淢y understanding was they left Northam early so Jack could be with his mum on Christmas,鈥 his cousin Michael Read told 7NEWS.

However, on Tuesday evening, police said the family鈥檚 maroon Land Rover had been found by another family member, 10km from the town.

鈥淸I鈥檓] pretty broken, not only have I lost my cousin, but one of my close friends... basically, we鈥檙e just taking one day at a time,鈥 Mr Read said.

Jake Day and Cindy Braddock were found dead in their car after it rolled on Christmas Day while they were driving in Western Australia. Their three young children survived. Photos / WA PoliceJake Day and Cindy Braddock were found dead in their car after it rolled on Christmas Day while they were driving in Western Australia. Their three young children survived. Photos / WA Police

Braddock and Day were both found dead inside the vehicle.

Two of the children, a 5-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy, were outside the vehicle, while a 2-month-old baby was still inside.

The youngest child suffered a significant head injury and is in a serious condition.

The other two children are understood to be in stable condition.

Read said the community would be devastated by the loss of the young parents.

鈥淭hey were really good parents, always good to have a joke and a beer with,鈥 he said.

鈥淭hey are going to be pretty missed by everybody 鈥 not just family and friends but the community as well.

He described his cousin as a 鈥渂ubbly person鈥 who was just 鈥渟omeone you could always get along with鈥.

He said Braddock was 鈥渙verprotective of her children鈥 who 鈥渁lways want mum鈥.

-ByLiam Beatty and Madeleine Achenza
news.com.au

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