Cindy Braddock and Jake Day were last seen leaving Northam about 1:00am on Christmas Day. Photo: Supplied
By Tabarak Al Jrood
Three young children were just a few kilometres from their Wheatbelt home in Western Australia when the car they were travelling in flipped and killed their parents on Christmas Day.
Police say a relative discovered the bodies of Cindy Braddock, 25, and Jake Day, 28, in the wreckage of the family's car about five kilometres from Kondinin, where the family lived, just before midday on Tuesday.
Their youngest child, a baby boy, was found in the car, meaning he had been trapped in the vehicle for more than two days after the family began the two-hour drive from Northam at about 1am on Christmas morning.
Their five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son had managed to free themselves from the wreckage and had been stranded on the side of the road until help finally came.
Police had issued an appeal on Tuesday for information to find the young family after they failed to arrive at Day's mother's house, where they had planned to spend Christmas Day.
All three children were airlifted to Perth Children's Hospital for treatment, with the baby boy suffering serious injuries.
WA Police Inspector Tony Vuleta said the other children suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
They were all now in stable conditions.
He said the families of the couple were "understandably very upset and traumatised" by the tragedy.
"An incident of this type is tragic, especially at this time of year. Our thoughts are with Cindy and Jake's family at this time," he said.
"Any event like this will adversely affect the community but this is a time where the community actually comes together and supports each other."
Inspector Vuleta said the cause of the crash was still being investigated.
"The investigation is in early stages, and we have limited details as to the circumstances surrounding the crash," he said.
Shire of Kondinin councillor Bruce Browning said the community would rally around the couple's family after the accident, which he described as "devastating".
"The time of the year actually exasperates the situation … it's just absolutely tragic," Browning said.
"The community would agree with me in expressing their sympathy to the relatives of the victims and I'm sure our community will do everything in their power to help them.
"I'd just like to thank the volunteers in our local St John Ambulance.
"It's extremely difficult for those people, having known the people involved, to attend something like that."
A portion of the Corrigin-Kondinin Road, between the Corrigin-Kulin Road and the Kondinin-Narembeen Road, has been closed.
There have been three single-vehicle crashes on Corrigin-Kondinin Road since 2016, with all incidents involving a car veering off the road and hitting a tree.
More than 170 people have died on WA's roads so far this year, with most of them in regional areas.
It's the state's highest road toll since 2016.
- ABC