‘Call it a mother’s instinct – I just had a gut-wrenching feeling’: Parents reveal how they heard the crash that killed their young daughter – before a shocking mix up made them believe BOTH their children were dead
- Elle Underhill, 4, was killed after a horrific car crash in northern New South Wales
- She was with her little sister Elaina and their babysitter Courtney Matthews
- Parents Michelle and Steve Underhill rushed to the scene when they heard sirens
Heartbroken parents of a four-year-old girl who was killed in a car crash that left her sister fighting for her life have revealed their horror of finding the car ripped in two.
Elle Underhill, four, and her sister Elaina, two, were travelling in a car with their babysitter Courtney Matthews, near Casino in northern New South Wales in December 2015.
The girls’ parents Michelle and Steve Underhill were at home when they heard the horrific collision and screaming sirens. They immediately knew something was wrong.
‘Call it a mothers instinct – I just had a horrible, gut-wrenching feeling it was the girls,’ Mrs Underhill told A Current Affair.
Sergeant Steve Underhill, who was called to the crash scene, had discovered his four-year-old daughter Elle (pictured) died after being trapped inside the wreckage
The 19-year-old babysitter was driving a Red Mazda 323 (pictured) when it collided with a Subaru Liberty near Casino in northern NSW on December, 2015
The pair raced to the scene of the crash, which was where they found the horrific wreckage.
‘I just remember the shards of glass piercing my feet as I just ran, ran to the middle, I sat down in front of half a car,’ Mrs Underhill said.
Both Elle and Elaina had already been rushed to hospital.
Mr Underhill, who is a police officer, was then told by a colleague his daughter had died.
Unfortunately officers at the scene had mixed the girls up and the parents were told their youngest, Elaina, was killed.
When Mr and Mrs Underhill were taken to identify their daughter’s body, they were shocked to find their eldest, Elle, in the morgue.
‘It was at that point I thought both girls were dead,’ Mr Underhill said.
Elle Underhill, four, and her sister Elaina, two, were travelling in a car with their babysitter Courtney Matthews when tragedy struck
Elaina had sustained life-threatening injuries but she was still alive. The two-year-old was airlifted to the children’s hospital in Brisbane.
While four-year-old Elle had died and her younger sister was fighting for her life, Mathews had walked away from the crash with minor injuries.
Matthews, who had her driver’s license suspended, was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
Due to a lack of evidence those charges were dropped. She has since pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of negligent driving occasioning death and actual bodily harm.
Matthews will be sentenced on Thursday.
The scene of the wreckage showed the red Subaru ripped in two near Casino in northern New South Wales