“A special girl”: Orphaned crash victim receives bravery award for saving baby brothers
Synthia Rose Day, a five-year-old girl from Western Australia, has received a Children of Courage award for her actions in the devastating crash that orphaned herself and her two younger brothers.
Synthia was in the car with her mother Cyndi Braddock, Cyndi’s partner Jake Day, and her two brothers when their Land Rover left the road in Wheatbelt and flipped a handful of kilometres short of their home. Jake was 28, and Cyndi only 25.
In the backseat with her little brothers, Synthia survived the accident, but the trio were not found for 55 hours in the wake of the tragedy despite a frantic search by both their loved ones and the local authorities.
While the situation the children found themselves in was nothing short of devastating, Synthia stepped up, and took action to make sure her brothers got out of there okay.
"She took the seatbelt off the one-year-old Charles,” the childrens’ uncle, Al Slatter, informed 9News, “[she] got him out of the seat and then got her foot stuck so she couldn't move … and what she did for Bevan was amazing."
The children, freed from the vehicle and watched over by young Synthia, were eventually found on the roadside.
For her actions that day, Synthia has been presented with a Children of Courage award, and was nominated by her teacher, Tony Smeed.
“She's always been a caring and compassionate person,” Smeed said of the decision to put Synthia forward for the award, “and obviously the bravery she showed in 50 hours of heat to keep her brothers alive was just amazing.”
“The award will mean that much to her,” their uncle, Al Slatter added, “and I even had a tear in my eye when they read it out to me, because she’s a special girl.”
Synthia’s beloved brothers - two-year-old Bevan and one-year-old Charles - were in attendance to support their hero big sister, and the family had to travel more than three hours from their home in Kondinin to Perth to attend the ceremony.
Slatter also opened up to 9News about Synthia’s attitude since the tragedy, as the children adjust to their lives in their grandparents’ care, saying, “Charles, she loves him, but Bevan, wherever he goes - if he’s out riding his pushbike out the front - she’s got to be out there checking on him, making sure he’s not too far from Nanny.”
Synthia was one of 38 exceptional children across Western Australia to be recognised for demonstrating resilience, determination, and positivity while living with trauma and various health challenges.
Images: 9News