Three WA children, who survived a Christmas Day crash near Kondinin that took the life of their parents, are needing the help of the community seven months on from the tragic ordeal.
On Christmas Day, Cindy Braddock, 25, and Jake Day, 28, died in a car accident in country WA.
Their three young children — in the back seat as the car rolled and came to a stop 10 metres off the road behind trees — survived in the wreck for more than two days as the summer temperatures soared.
They were finally found by frantic family and friends who had been desperately searching the area knowing something must have gone wrong.
Charles, Bevan and Synthia are now being raised by their grandmother Annette Day, who is asking for help from the community to fix their beaten-down home.
“Those three little babies they’re my sunshine. Flat out every single day,” she told 9News.
“We have our bad days, we’ve quite a few days, it’s OK you just keep on keeping on.”
Ms Day said she did not like to ask for help, however, their newly purchased home needed a lot of fixes to make it comfortable and safe for the children.
“I’ve never been one to ask for help so it’s hard for me to figure that one out, but the bathroom desperately needs a good going over, it’s quite old,” she said.
“A GoFundMe bought a car so I could get the kids around . . . and the house so they’ve got a roof over their heads and they can be in one spot forever.
“No moving around anymore. This is their home town. Close to mum and dad. Where they should be.”
Ms Day said she needed any tradesmen or skilled labourers who could help fix up the home.
“The foundations are there, love and care, it’ll all come out so wonderful.
“It’s all for the children so they can have a nice easy life now.”
Ms Day believes Cindy and Jake would be looking down, happy with how the children have been embraced by the country WA town of Kondinin and many others who heard their story.
“I’m hoping they are looking down and they’re happy.”
Reflecting on the tragedy, Ms Day said being trapped inside the car with their parents had left a mental scar on the children.
“They all know everything. I think the fact of the way it all was being in the car with mum and dad for those couple of days, I think maybe that’s what made it so real for them,” she said.
Five-year-old Synthia, later given a bravery award, unstrapped her one-year-old brother Bevan and the pair were found together near the road. But their infant brother Charlez, just two months old at the time, remained strapped into his car seat.
The children had spent more than 55 hours alone in 30-degree heat.