A grief-stricken father describes the moment he came face to face with the killer driver who mowed down his three children.
Danny and Leila Abdallah’s children Antony, 13, Angelina, 12, Sienna, eight, and their niece Veronique Sakr, 11, were walking on a footpath to buy ice cream in Oatlands, in Sydney’s west, when they were hit by a car and murdered on February 1, 2020.
The driver Samuel Davidson was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time. He is serving a twenty-year prison sentence.
The Abdallahs will tell 500 people gathered at the Australian National Prayer Breakfast at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday that they are in contact with the driver.
Danny and Leila Abdallah’s children Antony, (far left) Angelina, 12, (far right) Sienna, eight, (middle left) and their niece Veronique Sakr, 11, walked on a footpath to buy ice cream at Oatlands, in Sydney’s west when they were struck and killed by a car on February 1, 2020
Danny Abdallah (right) has visited his children’s killer, while his wife Leila (left) has made plans to do so
The driver Samuel Davidson was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time
Mr Abdallah has visited Davidson in prison, while Ms Abdallah also plans to do so Daily telegram reported.
Mr Abdallah went to confront the driver during an organized prison visit, admitting he was unsure how the meeting would go.
In an extraordinary gesture of forgiveness, the heartbroken father reached out to the killer driver, sparking an outpouring of emotions.
“I shook his hand and he fell to his knees, put his head on the ground and said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry I took your kids,’” he said.
‘He cried and I cried, you can just see that no one has won in this.
“I was at a crossroads in my life and the hardest question as a parent is whether you can lose your entire family in bitterness and seek revenge, or you can keep half your family and find forgiveness.”
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has grown close to the family, revealed how the tragedy was one of the most difficult days of his leadership.
The horrific incident coincided with the closure of Australia’s border areas at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking about the Abdallahs and Sakrs, Mr Morrison became emotional during an interview on Sky News for a new documentary on the Liberal Party.
‘I’ll never forget that day. It was actually the day my dear friends Danny, Leila Abdallah and Bridget Sakr lost their children in that terrible accident in Oatlands, on the same day…sorry,” he said.
“They had every right to be furious, they had every right to be vengeful, they had every right to lash out and they chose a different path.
“And I know why they did that, because we share the same faith.”
Sienna, eight, Angelina, 12, and Antony, 13, all died in the tragic incident on February 1, 2020
Last month, Abdallah announced that his wife Leila was pregnant with their eighth child.
‘Leila is doing well, she is pregnant again. I got one past the keeper! And yes, she has been quite busy with the kids,” he told 2GB at the time.
Mr Abdallah also revealed that Oatlands Golf Club had finally agreed to allow a memorial to be erected at the site of the crash in honor of his children.
The family hope it will be completed before Christmas, with Mr Abdallah saying it will bring ‘closure’ to their lives.
The Abdallahs had welcomed the birth of a baby girl in March last year and with another baby on the way, the couple will be parents to five surviving children.
The 2020 crash rocked the country, with many impressed by the Abdallahs’ remarkable act of forgiveness for the driver just days later.
The couple later founded the i4give Foundation – to coincide with the anniversary of the crash – to commemorate their lost loved ones and help others in similar situations.
The Abdallahs have also filed a civil suit against Davidson.
The legal action, which is believed to involve Davidson’s insurance policy, seeks payment for ongoing trauma for the family and for children who were injured but survived the catastrophic accident.