In broad daylight on a calm April afternoon in 2015, a car was seen mounting the kerb and driving ‘full bolt’ straight into a lake in Wyndham Vale in Melbourne’s southwest.
The driver of the car was Akon Guode, a 35-year-old South Sudanese refugee with seven children. Three of which drowned that afternoon, another was injured.
A chef was driving past Lake Gladman at the time, a rock-edged suburban wetland, when the Toyota Kluger in front of her suddenly pulled over, according to The Monthly.
The water wasn’t deep enough to engulf the car, the roof was still above surface but the car filled fast with water
Continuing on her way, she caught a glimpse of Guode sitting slumped over the steering wheel, with her face in her hands. Behind her, the kids were uncontrollable.
Just minutes later a teacher passing by witnessed the Toyota mount the kerb, cross a grassy area, and drive straight into the water without hesitation.
She raced home to get her phone, urgently dialling triple-0 on her return, reported news.com.au. She explained that the car drove into the wetland, yet she initially didn’t know whether or not there were any children.
Then she saw the first child. A chilling exchange with emergency services followed.
Heather*: Oh, there is a kid, there is a kid, there is a kid under the water. Do I get in?
Emergency services: No, no, you need to keep yourself safe, OK, you need to keep yourself safe.
Heather: They are floating, they are floating in the water. They can’t swim. Can I please go get him?
Emergency services: No, you need to keep yourself safe, OK? The police and emergency services have been notified, they’ll get there as soon as they can, OK?
Heather: I can help these kids, I can help these kids, I can help them.
(Crying.) Please let me go.
The children were trapped inside the four-wheel drive when it was submerged in the lake
Emergency services attempted to calm down the witness as she watched in horror, assuring her that police and SES were on their way and that she needed to keep calm.
She watched on as Guode put her head out of the driver’s window and began to scream. More witnesses and passers-by began to crowd around the scene unfolding in the otherwise quiet neighbourhood.
A sales manager who lived opposite the lake ran out of the house and waded in, frantically attempting to break one of the rear windows with his fist and elbow. At this point, Guode had managed to pull herself outside the car.
‘Is there anyone in the car?’ He yelled as he waded the water towards her.
‘I can’t see through the windows! Anyone inside?’
The 37-year-old has since pleaded guilty to the murders of four-year-old twins Hanger and Madit, and the infanticide of 17-month-old Bol
Guode provided no response, just stared blankly across the lake. The window wasn’t shattering, he yelled for a rock, but none came. He managed to smash the window open with a steel-boot freeing one of the children, 16-month-old Bol, from his harness.
The hysterical teacher on the bank was still on the phone with emergency services.
Heather: (shouting out to the rescuers) The kid was right here, right where you are standing, just here.
Emergency services: Heather? Yeah? You go and talk to the services, OK? And they will be able to help you.
Heather: OK. There is a kid …
Emergency Services: Bye, Heather.
Rescuers were shouting out to Guode. She continued to gaze out over the water and stay silent.
By the time Guode made it back ashore, all four children had been found. Alual, the child that Heather had first spotted, had been rescued in shallow parts of the water bank and survived.
Bol, and four-year-old twins, Hanger and Madit did not survive the ordeal.
Akon Guode, a refugee from South Sudan had driven four of her seven children into a small lake in Wyndham Vale, Melbourne’s south west
In May 2017. Guode pleaded guilty to the murders of the twins, and the infanticide of Bol. She also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of five-year-old Alual and was sentenced to 26 years in prison.
*Name has been changed