A father who lost three of his children and a niece in one awful tragedy has courageously ventured behind bars to confront their killer in person.
Danny and Leila Abdallah endured every parent’s worst nightmare when their children went out for ice cream and didn’t make it back alive.
On February 1, 2020, siblings Anthony, 13, Angelina, 12, Sienna, eight, and their cousin Veronique Sakr, 11, lost their lives instantly when a ute veered onto the sidewalk in Oatlands, western Sydney.
Samuel Davidson, the driver, was under the influence of alcohol and drugs when he lost control and drove into the children. Out of the group of seven, three other children sustained injuries.
Davidson is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, which was reduced from an initial 28 years on appeal. Recently, Mr. Abdallah visited him for a recorded discussion.
This is not their first interaction; Mr. Abdallah has shared that he has forgiven Davidson and that they maintain monthly conversations.
The only difference being their conversations have never been shown to the public until now.
Mr. Abdallah mentioned that Davidson consistently inquires about his surviving children and his wife Leila, who recently welcomed their eighth child.
Danny Abdallah visited in jail the man who mowed down his three kids (pictured with wife Leila)
Samuel Davidson was impaired by drugs and alcohol when he hit seven children, killing four at the scene and injuring three others in Oatlands, western Sydney, on February 1, 2020.
Davidson is still serving 15 years behind bars for the crime (pictured at the crash site)
The pair’s forgiveness has not only stunned Australia but also Davidson himself.
The deeply religious couple founded i4give day on February 1 each year.
Mr Abdallah previously said that, along with his faith, his main reason for forgiveness was to not hold onto ‘revenge and bitterness and anger’ that would only hurt his family further.
‘I’ve still got other kids I need to raise and make sure that they have the best environment at home.’
In venturing into prison again, on this ocassion with a crew from Seven’s Spotlight, Mr Abdallah said he wanted to show the world what these talks between himself and Davidson involved.
‘I wanted to meet [Davidson] to tell him about my kids (sic),’ Mr Abdallah said on the way to the prison. ‘I have a very special message for him.’
Davidson, who has converted to become a Maronite Catholic courtesy of the Abdallah’s influence, admitted to thinking about the children he had killed ‘every day’ and spoke about what led to him getting in his ute while under the influence.
Mr Abdallah said he initially began speaking with Davidson because he ‘needed closure’.
He said he liked ‘confrontation’ and needed Davidson to know who he was and the hurt he had caused the family and why they had chosen to forgive him.
Anthony, 13, Angelina, 12, Sienna, eight, (pictured) were killed instantly in the crash along with their cousin Veronique Sakr, 11
Mr Abdallah said he and his wife have already forgiven Davidson and are working to make peace with him
Memorials for each of the children killed in the collision were erected in February 2024
The Abdallah and Sakr families in 2024 unveiled a permanent memorial to their children at the crash site outside Oatlands Golf Club.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his predecessor Scott Morrison were there, as were NSW Premier Chris Minns and former premier Dominic Perrottet, all of whom have all spent time with the family since the tragedy.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Abdallah thanked his wife for being his ‘pillar of strength’ as they revealed four sandstone plinths featuring each of the children’s faces.
‘Leila, thank you for being a pillar of strength and carrying your grief with grace and dignity,’ he said.
‘I remember coming here the day after the tragedy and the days ahead every morning at sunrise, I was a broken man in tears asking God why?
‘And then a family member came to me and said ”Danny stop asking why and start asking how”.’
Mr Abdallah has spent 10 minutes talking to Davidson every month since the unveiling and has said each is ‘just a very simple conversation … It’s all pretty personal’.
The pair’s taped interview will be broadcast on August 18.
