Three young children who survived a horror Christmas Day crash that killed both of their parents have returned home to relatives.
Jake Day, 28, and Cindy Braddock, 25, died when their Land Rover Discovery rolled over on an isolated road near the West Australian town of Kondinin, 279km east of Perth and less than 10km from home.
Their three young children, Synthia, 5, Bevan, 2, and Charlez, 1, all survived the crash, but were stranded for 55 hours until the wreckage was eventually found about midday on December 27.
Synthia has been hailed a hero after relatives revealed the little girl unbuckled her baby brother from his car seat, which saved his life.
According to family friends, she told her siblings: ‘Nanny is going to look after us now.’
The children were treated for cuts, bruises and dehydration before being airlifted to Perth Children’s Hospital.
They spent four days in hospital before being given the all-clear to leave.
Synthia, 5, Bevan, 2, and Charlez, 1 have returned home a week after a horror crash that killed both of their parents
They smiled and squealed with delight as they played at a park in Perth on Saturday.
They returned home to Kondinin the next day to finally open their presents from Santa waiting for them under the Christmas tree.
They will live with their grandmother Annette Day, a local hospital orderly.
‘The next goal is to just keep looking after the kids,’ Mr Day’s stepfather Richard Parker told Seven News.
The children appear to be doing well, despite their harrowing ordeal.
‘[They are] full of life, jumped in the car, thought we might have had trouble getting one or two of them in their car seats, but they were straight in,’ Mr Parker told Nine News.
‘Good chance I’ll end up moving down there as well just for support and we’ll be going from there.’
Cindy Braddock, 25 and Jake Day, 28 have been remembered as loving parents who would do anything for their kids
The family had left Northam, WA, at about 1am on Christmas Day and were heading home to Kondinin, some 200km away before the tragic accident
He also paid a heartbreaking tribute to the crash victims as he issued an emotional plea to all drivers hitting the road during the holiday season.
‘Jake would do anything for those three kids. Cindy was the same. It was hard to pry the kids away from them noticing,’ Mr Parker added.
‘Nine kilometres, it was only a little bit down the road. So if you’re not feeling right or tired, pull over. Don’t drive, it’s not worth it!’
The family also thanked Australians for their support with almost $140,000 raised for the orphaned children.
Mr Day’s cousin Casey Guyer provided an update on the fundraising page last Friday.
‘I have been to visit the kids and can not get over their strength. Three beautiful beautiful children that are so special and strong,’ she wrote.
Synthia (pictured) and her little brothers were treated to a trip to the park in Perth on New Year’s Eve before returning home the next day to live with their grandmother
‘We can not thank everyone enough for their donations it’s overwhelming.
‘And a big thank you to everyone for respecting the families privacy during this extremely hard time.’
Upon being discovered by family friends at the site of the crash after 55 hours in 30 degree heat at the crash site, brave Synthia’s first words uttered were ‘Nanny is going to look after us now’.
‘She’s incredible, her brother would not be here if it wasn’t for her and she loves her Nanny,’ friend Kailee Wallace told The West Australian.
The car was found upside-down in an embankment just 10Km away from the family’s destination on Corrigin-Kondinin Road, just before midday on Tuesday
Synthia’s bravery is the reason why she and her little brothers are alive today
‘The five-year-old became unstuck in the vehicle and she then got the one-year-old out of the car seat, then they were stuck in the car for the 55 hours in 30-degree heat,’ Mr Day’s cousin Michael Read said.
‘It would have been hard for the three children to be in the car for that whole time. Nobody knows what they went through.
‘And if it wasn’t for the five-year-old undoing the buckle of the one-year-old’s car seat, he wouldn’t be with us today.’
Synthia, Bevan and Charlez will now live with their grandmother following the tragic loss of their parents Cindy Braddock (right) and Jake Day (left)