Jake Day, 28, and Cindy Braddock, 25, both lost their lives in the collision (Picture: Facebook)
Three young children were left stranded for 55 hours after a horror crash in Australia.
Cindy Braddock, 25, and Jake Day, 28 died when their Land Rover Discovery came off the road on Christmas Day.
Their children – aged five, two and one – sheltered in the shell of the damaged car until they were discovered more two days later.
Cindy and Jake had been driving through the night along the remote Corrigin-Kondinin Road in Western Australia.
They were just 10km from home when they crashed.
The couple’s devastated family have now made a desperate plea to motorists, urging them ‘don’t drive tired’.
Michael Read, who is a cousin to one of the parents, told ABC: ‘They 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.
‘They looked very exhausted. He told me he was heading to Kondinin and that it was a couple of hours drive.
The family were reported missing on Christmas Day by concerned relatives (Picture: GoFundMe)
‘He didn’t buy a coffee. Then he left, I told him good luck with the long drive.
‘Unfortunately, he never made it.’
Cindy and Jake’s five-year-old daughter reportedly saved the lives of her young brothers.
According to local media, she managed to free herself and unclip her siblings from their car seats.
The family were just 10km from home when their car came off the road (Picture: Facebook)
Jake’s stepfather, Richard Parker, has confirmed the children are being cared for in hospital.
‘She’s a legend, she always has been… she’s a strong little girl,’ he told The West.
‘I appreciate the people who were out there helping us look for them. We’ll get through it, we’ve just got to plod along.’
The family were reported missing on Christmas Day when they didn’t show up to a family celebration.
A GoFundMe page to raise money for the orphaned children has already seen more than $27,000 pledged.
It states: ‘The children are currently in hospital with family and are all doing okay considering the circumstances.’
Police are investigating how the crash happened
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Cindy and Jake’s five-year-old daughter saved the lives of her young brothers.
