"We are devastated": Perth mum's heartbreak after fatal crash
A Perth mother has described the moment her six-year-old son lost his life in a horrifying car crash.
Jackson Donovan, aged 6, was killed when his family van was rear ended at an intersection in East Rockingham, South of Perth's CBD on Friday.
“Everything went white,” Klara Donovan wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post, detailing how she was behind the wheel with Jackson and his sister Rosie in the back seat.
“I was so confused until I realised we’d just been hit really hard and all the airbags had deployed around me.”
The van was pushed into a bus and two more cars, causing the vehicle to spin out before it finally came to a stop. Escaping the incident with only a sore wrist, Ms Donovan thought everyone was safe.
“I thought, ‘if I’m ok it wasn’t that bad’,” she said, “I called out ‘everyone okay?’.”
But while Rosie started screaming, Jackson’s silence was deafening.
“Jackson was quiet and I was honestly so confused as to why he didn’t answer until I saw him.”
The family was told he died on impact.
Ms Donovan had just picked her son up from school and was feeling “so happy” heading into the weekend with her family, when the accident occurred.
Little Jackson was flown to Perth Children’s Hospital where his parents faced their worst nightmare, deciding to switch off his life support 28 hours later.
“Chris and I can’t wrap our heads around how everything has just stopped,” she wrote on Facebook.
“His love of video games.. His keenness for reading.. His joyful little friendships. His love for his sisters.. His Paw Patrol onesie.. Sneaking into our bed at night.
“We will never get any of it back and we are gutted.
“Rosie won’t even remember the brother who knew how to make her laugh long before anyone else could.. Everley has lost her best friend and wild play mate.
“We have lost the most awesome, fun, hilarious, smart, sweet kid. We are devastated beyond words.
“Jackson, we love you so much. We are so sorry you couldn’t stay longer with us.”
No charges have yet been laid over the crash, which also saw a 64-year-old man taken to hospital and police are investigating whether a driver involved in the incident may have had a medical episode.
Close family and friends have since set up a GoFundMe page to help the Donovan’s through this “unfathomable time”, raising over $27,000 has been raised for unexpected funeral costs and loss of work.
Images: Facebook / Nine News