The aunt of a young girl who was injured when a car crashed into a classroom in Sydney’s south-west said she hasn’t worked up the courage to tell her niece her two friends died in the accident.
The unnamed woman has created a petition calling for cars to be banned from Banksia Road Primary School’s grounds after two eight-year-old boys, Andrew and Jihad, died when a Toyota Kluger SUV hit their Banksia Road Primary School demountable classroom shortly before 10am on Tuesday.
‘How do you tell an eight-year-old that their friends have died? My niece witnessed that, and she’s been talking about it,’ she said, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The aunt of a young girl who was injured when a car crashed into a classroom in Sydney’s south-west (pictured) said she hasn’t told her niece her two friends died in the accident
Police believe Maha Al-Shennag (pictured) was distracted after dropping her water bottle, resulting in her launching her car into a classroom and killing two young students
Investigators are operating under the theory the 52-year-old widow was leaning over to pick up the bottle after dropping off her child, nine, inside the school gates
Ms Al-Shennag then accidentally pressed on the accelerator, sending the car launching off an object and flying into the 3T demountable building
A map shows the classroom Al-Shennag ploughed into just near a carpark reserved for staff
Boys died when a Toyota Kluger SUV hit their Banksia Road Primary School demountable classroom shortly before 10am on Tuesday
‘You don’t think something will happen when you drop your kid at school. Whether it’s an accident or not, a vehicle shouldn’t be on school grounds at all.
‘If the school was designed around safety of children, this wouldn’t have happened.’
Three young girls – including twins – were rushed to the hospital with injuries from the crash. Two have been released.
Investigators believe 52-year-old widow Maha Al-Shennag was leaning over to pick up the bottle after dropping off her child, nine, inside the school gates when the crash occured.
Ms Al-Shennag then accidentally pressed on the accelerator, sending the car launching off an object and flying into the demountable building, The Australian reported.
Her 12-year-old son was in the car at the time of the incident but he was unharmed.
There are no suspicions any drugs or alcohol were present in her system at the time and no mechanical faults assigned to the vehicle.
The crash is being treated simply and sadly as a tragic error.
Tensions have run high between the family of a woman who crashed into Banksia Road Primary School, killing two young boys, and media less than 24 hours after the incident (pictured)
The driver Maha Al-Shennag, 52, was holed up inside a home in western Sydney on Wednesday and outside her relatives
A number of women wearing traditional Islamic dress clash with a man outside a home where Al-Shennag is holed up
A relative of one of two boys killed has questioned why the woman was driving inside school grounds.
Police confirmed they were investigating why the Toyota Kluger had passed through the gates of Banksia Road Public School moments before the crash.
The driver Maha Al-Shennag was holed up inside a house in Sydney on Wednesday after being charged with two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death.
Relatives of the 52-year-old told Daily Mail Australia less than 24 hours after the crash that she was ‘deeply sorry’ about the incident, but ‘does not want to talk’.
Hitting out on social media in the hours after the crash on Tuesday, a relative of one of the boys’ said they were finding it hard to be ‘sympathetic’ to the mother-of-four.
‘We are… trying to be sympathetic to the mother who did this but gates were closed, you don’t open (them),’ the relative wrote.
A sign at the entrance of the driveway where Al-Shennag is alleged to have driven in says: ‘STOP. No vehicle access. Caution Children. Staff and authorised vehicles only.’
Parents at the school said the carpark in front of the classroom which was struck was used for staff parking.
The horrific crash took the lives of eight-year-old best friends Andrew Encinas and Jihad Darwiche.
The gate to the staff carpark which Al-Shennag allegedly drove through features a ‘no vehicle access’ sign
A woman walks out of the gates in the hours after the horrific crash at the Greenacre school
Relatives of Al-Shennag told Daily Mail Australia less than 24 hours after the crash that she was ‘deeply sorry’ about the incident, but ‘does not want to talk’
A relative of one of two young boys killed when a car crashed into a Sydney primary school has questioned why the woman was driving inside school grounds moments before the crash
A shattered mourner pays tribute to the two boys at the gates of Banksia Road Public School
At the address where Al-Shennag is in hiding, a member of her family told Daily Mail Australia she was ‘sorry’, but not ready to talk about the shocking incident.
‘No comment thanks… she’s deeply sorry, but doesn’t want to talk about it,’ a relative said.
Moments later, a burqa-wearing woman was seen clashing with other media outside the house.
Neighbours also told Daily Mail Australia that Al-Shennag is a widow who looks after her four children aged 15, 12 and twins aged 11, on her own.
Family members of the boys also revealed on Tuesday evening that they were ‘best friends who died together’.
Grieving children returned to Banksia Road Public School on Wednesday morning to pay tribute to the lives of the two boys.
Shocked family members have paid tribute to the young boys.
‘My grandson is a 6 generation at this school, all prefects, captains and community leaders,’ Peter Litsas, who identified himself as Andrew’s relative, wrote.
‘Andrew loved everyone and died with his best friend.’
A spokesman for NSW Education confirmed they had found ‘asbestos-containing materials have been identified inside the building’ that was knocked down by an out-of-control car
Emergency services have been working at the scene to investigate the cause for the crash and determine the extent of the presence of asbestos
Extra counsellors were sent to the school to help traumatised children; many of who watched on helplessly as their two classmates lay trapped beneath the 4WD.
One of the boys was knocked unconscious and trapped underneath the car, while the other suffered a large gash wound to his head and was flattened to the ground.
The pair were rushed to Westmead Children’s Hospital but both tragically passed away due to cardiac arrest.
Al-Shennag was charged with two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and was granted strict conditional bail on Tuesday afternoon.
Heartbroken families pay tribute to the two eight-year-old boys outside Banksia Road Public School
Parents, students and members of the wider community have come together to mourn the two young victims of the tragic car crash
Her lawyer Nick Hanna said she was ‘deeply sorry for the loss and hurt suffered by the children, the school, the families and the community’.
‘Her thoughts and prayers are with all those affected,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.
Khaled Arnaout, one of the heroic first responders, revealed one of the young boys’ last words was asking for his mother.
‘He kept asking where his mum was,’ Mr Arnaout said.
‘I said, ‘your mum will come for you shortly’.’
There are renewed fears for other students, teachers, parents and first responders as it was revealed asbestos was among the used in the walls of the smashed classroom.
A spokesman for New South Wales Education said ‘asbestos-containing materials had been identified inside the building’.
Emergency services have been working at the scene to investigate the cause for the crash and determine the extent of the presence of asbestos.
‘The removal of any asbestos that may have been disturbed in the damaged building will be managed in compliance with SafeWork NSW requirements,’ the spokesman said.
There are renewed fears for the 22 other students in the class, as well as teachers, parents and first responders after officials identified the presence of the poisonous material
Parents, students and members of the wider community have come together to mourn the two young victim’s of the tragic car crash at a Sydney primary school
‘The Department’s first priority is to the students and staff of Banksia Road Public School, and we are currently focused on supporting them.’
Breathing in asbestos fibres can cause mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Parents, students and members of the wider community have come together to mourn the two young victims of the tragic car crash.
People gathered outside the school on Tuesday evening, laying flowers and remembering the young lives that were lost.
A large notice was posted, handwritten by students from the year above the 3T class that saw their room collapsed by the out-of-control vehicle.
‘Rest in Peace Andrew and Jihad, you will never be forgotten,’ the sign reads.
A large notice was posted, handwritten by students from the year above the 3T class that saw their room collapsed by the out-of-control vehicle
People gathered outside Banksia Road Public School on Wednesday evening, laying flowers and remembering the young lives that were lost
Hundreds gathered outside the school in an outpouring of grief and emotion on Tuesday.
Adults and children had to be comforted by others attending the vigil with many breaking down in tears at the sight of the destroyed classroom.
‘He was a beautiful boy’: Hero first responder Khaled Arnaout charged towards the scene after hearing a loud bang, screaming and crying
Among those attending the vigil was Lakemba MP Jihad Dib, who spoke and held a moment’s silence at the memorial.
‘Please keep these two little boys and their family in your prayers and God willing a speedy recovery to those in hospital,’ he said.
‘Make sure you tell your parents you love them.’
Neighbour and tradesman Mr Arnaout revealed he bolted towards the school after hearing a loud ‘bang’ and found a tragic scene of blood and chaos.
With the help of at least one other man, he lifted the 4WD off one of the boys.
The child was unconscious, but his eyes were open.
‘(I) keep seeing the blue eyes staring up at me,’ a heartbroken Mr Arnaout told Daily Mail Australia. ‘He was a beautiful boy.’
Hundreds have gathered outside the school in an outpouring of grief and emotion
Adults and children have had to be comforted by others attending the vigil with many breaking down in tears at the sight of the destroyed classroom
The first responder was heartbroken after hearing the two boys died in the police press conference later
Witnesses said the car is owned by a parent at the school, who had been parked in a carpark moments before the vehicle struck the classroom
The other boy who later died had a big gash to his head. But when Mr Arnaout was present, he was conscious and kept asking for his mother.
After the accident, he saw the driver was in the back seat of the car yelling out ‘help, I’m sorry’.
A tradesman, Mr Arnaout had popped home to get something when he heard a loud ‘bang’.
He didn’t think much of it until he heard screaming and crying as well.
Safe in his arms: A student at Banksia Road Public School is walked home after the tragic accident on Tuesday
Parents hug outside the Banksia Road Public School school gates after the fatal crash
Walls toppled and class decorations in tatters: Maha Al-Shennag was behind the wheel of the SUV when it slammed into the classroom
His first thought was his daughter who attended the school. The short run to the scene of the crash felt like a ‘marathon’, he said.
‘(I) run over there, see the whole wall and debris everywhere and blood.’
‘Another guy (stood) next to the car, instinct got us, we lifted the car.
‘We saw the kid looking at us from under the car.’
He later found out the boys had died from the police press conference.
‘I broke down and thought I could have done more.’
He believes it could have helped to have had a defibrillator in the classroom.
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