Category Archives: headline

headline

Driver responsible for Oatlands crash apologises to grieving families

The driver responsible for the deaths of four children in Sydney's northwest last year has apologised to the families involved.

Samuel Davidson was drunk behind the wheel of his car when he ploughed into the group of seven children as they walked to buy ice cream in Oatlands.

Siblings Antony, Angelina and Sienna Abdallah and their cousin Veronique Sakr were killed, leaving a family and community in shock.

Veronique Sakr was killed in a car crash in Oatlands.

The family exchanged hugs and tears of anguish at Parramatta District Court today as the mothers, fathers, and siblings came forward one-by-one to stare down the driver as he wept in the dock.

"You may have lost your freedom, but I've lost my flesh and blood," Bridget Sakr, mother of Veronique Sakr said.

Leila Abdallah lost three of her six children, telling Davidson "You've killed us all. I'm no longer living. Just existing."

Veronique Sakr was killed in a car crash in Oatlands.

In his statement to the family Davidson wrote, "I'm so sorry, I hate what I've put you through."

A report following the incident found he was travelling up to 133km/h in a 50km/h zone and was moving about 111km/h at the time of impact.

He has since been convicted on four counts of manslaughter with his punishment yet to be decided by the court.

The Abdallah, Sakr and Kassas families released an official statement today saying, "There are no words that describe the pain we endure".

"We love our children dearly and we will always grieve the loss of our beautiful kids … Every day for us is a day closer to being reunited with our children," the statement said.

"For the rest of our lives, our hearts will be broken but despite this devastation we are here united to love and support our living children and all the other members of our families.   "

"Today we trust in the Australian judicial system, that the right justice will be served and God's will, will be done."

"We would like to extend our deep gratitude to the Australian community for their love, support and prayers."

headline

Troy's story of hope out of COVID-19 chaos and desperation

A lot can happen in a year. A lot has happened in a year.

March 2020 was one of the most chaotic months this country has seen as, bit by bit, the nation was shutdown.

Australians overseas were asked to come home, borders were effectively closed to the world, and the shutters came down on businesses across the country.

Those decisions would put hundreds of thousands of people into unemployment queues.

One of them was then-29-year-old Troy Bayley.

Troy Bailey had been plunged out of work as a barista when restrictions to curb coronavirus meant his employer had to close.

The barista had been plunged out of work when restrictions to curb coronavirus meant his employer had to close.

On Tuesday, March 31, a week after the shutdowns, I met Troy outside a Centrelink in Canberra.

He was desperate for help.

There were about 20 people in the queue, standing 1.5 metres apart as Australians had become accustomed to.

I asked if anyone wanted to talk about what they were going through.

One person did.

Troy stepped forward.

"Oh mate I'm flat broke eh," he told me.

Troy had just $30 to his name and no income.

"I already used the last payment I got to pay for rent and some stuff. Now it's gone I'm up for another week's rent. Yeah man, it's hard," he said.

Troy Bailey has now found a full-time job, just a year after wondering where is next pay packet was going to come from amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was the stark reality of what was happening and thousands of others had a story like Troy's and were in the depths of despair.

Help wasn't immediate, and Troy feared losing his place in a rental property.

He emerged from Centrelink empty handed and wondering what to do next.

And the government had to act. Those put out of work would receive a supplement.

Job Seeker became worth about $1100 a fortnight.

Troy was one of the 1.5 millions Australians to benefit.

Fast forward 12 months.

He doesn't need the payment anymore.

As of a fortnight ago, Troy Bayley is employed full time, one of the 88,000 jobs which returned to the economy in February.

Troy still makes coffee, his success is brewing at a cafe in Canberra.

Pasticceria Amelia is home.

"Now I get up and go to work not get up and look for work," he tells me.

Ben McDonald, and his aunt Dora Hernandez have opened more than their business to Troy.

Dora smiles.

"He's become one of the family. We welcomed him from day one. He's a good guy, we're very happy to have him," he says.

And Troy is happy to have them.

"Bosses are great most customers are repeat customers lovely people. It's really good. I come in and have a laugh with the customers. It's rgeat its not all super serious," he said.

It's not just work giving Troy a reason to smile, he now has a car and has become engaged to his girlfriend of about a year.

"Things are on the rise," he tells me.

The change in Troy is profound.

I've kept in touch with him throughout the last 12 months as he dealt with trying to find a home and a job, while at the same time the coronavirus supplement of his job seeker was being scaled back.

"The first six months, they felt like two years," he says.

But Troy is now looking forward. He's planning his wedding.

For Troy, life is greater than it was a year ago.

And that's the way life should be.

headline

Firefighters continue to battle raging toxic Sydney factory inferno

Emergency firefighting operations are continuing at a massive factory fire in Sydney's south-west as the inferno continues to billow toxic smoke into the surrounding area.

The inferno broke out this morning at the facility on Hoxton Park Road, near Cartwright Avenue, in Prestons.

The factory is reported to contain tens of thousands of litres of flammable and dangerous liquids including ethanol, insecticide, brake fluid, hydraulic oil and LPG.

It's expected to take well into the afternoon to extinguish the blaze.

READ MORE: Man found dead in Melbourne unit fire

https://twitter.com/PaulBaxterFRNSW/status/1372679449443926018

When they arrived at the scene this morning, firefighters were confronted with giant fireballs "leaping" into the air as residents were evacuated and roads shut down as toxic smoke covered the area.

A firefighter on scene told Today crews were faced with monster fireballs exploding from the factory.

"On arrival, firefighters were confronted with fireballs leaping 50 metres in the air," he said.

Local residents were told to leave as more than 150 firefighters worked to contain the raging blaze at its peak.

Residents have reported hearing a number of explosions, with debris flying from the scene.

"I just heard a big explosion," a resident told Today.

"We had to get up for work and first thing that I saw was flames in the sky and just very terrified at the moment to be honest."

Firefighters are battling to prevent the toxic chemicals from exploding and filtering into a stream of water, as housing estates border the fire.

The blaze was brought under control just before 9am.

Residents have been warned to stay indoors and keep their windows closed to prevent the toxic smoke from infiltrating their homes.

No injuries have yet been reported but two employees were forced to flee.

LIVE UPDATES: AstraZeneca vaccine ruled 'safe'

The factory contained insecticide and car maintenance products.

Fire crews were called to the blaze about 5.20am.

The business was closed at the time.

Road closures on Hoxton Park Road are expected to remain and motorists are advised to avoid the area.