The father of one of the four children killed in the Oatlands crash tragedy has revealed he is dying of cancer.
Bob Sakr, the dad of Veronique Sakr, shared on social media that he has been battling cancer for nearly a year and that he has about two weeks left to live.
Veronique, 11, was killed on February 1, 2020, when Samuel William Davidson’s ute mounted a kerb and ploughed into her and cousins Sienna Abdallah, Angelina Abdallah, and Antony Abdallah as they walked to buy ice creams.
Bob Sakr, the dad of Veronique Sakr, shared on social media that he has been battling cancer for nearly a year and that he has about two weeks left to live
Mr Sakr said his cancer had ‘gone into attack mode’ and that doctors had told him his life was coming to an end.
‘I haven’t booked my ticket, and I am not in a hurry, but I am preparing for what’s to come next,’ he said.
‘I’m not one in saying bye, but instead prefer to say, ‘See you next time I’m looking at you’.’
Davidson was drunk and on drugs when he crashed into the four children.
He was initially jailed for 28 years with a non-parole period of 21 years, but was re-sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison with a non-parole period of 17 years, after his original sentence was deemed manifestly excessive.
Veronique’s mother, Bridget Sakr, said at the time that the sentence reduction was ‘unfair’.
‘We’ve always said forgiveness and justice are two different things,’ she said.
‘It was a crushing sentence apparently, but it was our children that were crushed.’
Pictured left to right: Sienna Abdallah, eight, Veronique Sakr, 11, Antony Abdallah, 13, and Angelina Abdallah, 12, were killed drink and drug driver Samuel Davidson in 2020
Samuel Davidson was initially jailed in April 2021 for 28 years with a non-parole period of 21 years (pictured, Davidson’s arrest following the crash)
Davidson failed in a bid earlier this year to reduce his sentence once more, claiming he had been subject to an unfair amount of jail time due to the incorrect use of sentencing principles.
Stephen Odgers SC, representing Davidson, said Davidson had prior good character, with the offence leading to his first time in court.
This meant he had a good chance of being rehabilitated.
He said how parole and non-parole periods were determined in relation to the length of a sentence meant people with a better chance of rehabilitation were left worse off.
‘It is very odd that a person with good prospects is worse off than a person with poor prospects,’ the barrister told the court back in March.
‘But in NSW, good prospects of rehabilitation hurt you.’
Mr Odgers added that if the case was to be heard, the defence would raise the issue of Davidson’s ADHD, but conceded it wasn’t a basis for which the appeal should be granted.
Mr Sakr is seen kissing his daughter’s coffin at her funeral at the Santa Sabina College Chapel in Sydney
Samuel William Davidson failed in his final bid to reduce his sentence after killing three members of the Abdallah family (above) and their cousin
Davidson said during a court appearance in May last year that his ADHD was making prison life difficult.
Crown prosecutor David Kell SC said at the time that he had gone off his ADHD medication on several occasions before the tragedy and had binged on alcohol and illicit drugs.
Davison was driving erratically and speeding when he struck the children in Oatlands, in Sydney’s northwest.
He had pleaded guilty to four counts of manslaughter and to charges related to injuries caused to three other children in the crash.
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