Drunk driver who killed 4 kids in NSW in 2020 has sentence reduced

Samuel Davidson was three times over the blood alcohol limit as well as under the effects of MDMA and cocaine in February 2020 when the car he was driving mounted a kerb killing siblings Antony, 13, Angelina, 12, and Sienna Abdallah, 9, and their cousin, Veronique Sakr, 11, who all died at the scene.

Three other children were injured with one being left with permanent brain damage.

Samuel Davidson (2020) abc.net.au

In 2021, Davidson was sentenced to jail for 28 years over the crash, though successfully appealed his sentence on 15 July 2022, having it quashed and reduced to just 20 years with a 15-year non-parole period.

"Forgiveness and justice go hand in hand, you can't have one without the other." - Danny Abdallah

Shock and devastation are how the mother of one of the four children described feeling after learning of the successful appeal, Bridget Sakr telling 7News her “heart sank”, adding “forgiveness and justice are two different things – this wasn’t an accident, this was homicide”.

Crash site, Oatlands NSW (2020) abc.net.au

Two of three Supreme Court Judges agreed that the original sentence was “manifestly excessive” and reduced the sentence by more than 25% from the minimum 21 years to just 15 - the maximum reduced from 28 years to just 20.

Danny Abdallah father of Antony, Sienna and Angelina said on Saturday, “It's not good for our community - it's giving them permission to to take drugs, drink alcohol. If you run over seven kids you might get two and a half years per child- We were slowly moving forward and this has taken us back."

Mr Abdallah added "We genuinley have forgiven the driver, but I've said it before. Forgiveness and justice go hand in hand, you can't have one without the other."

Davidson's earliest date for release is 31 January 2035.

It will be a decision for the Office of the NSW Public Prosecutor to determine whether or not to appeal the decision in the High Court of Australia.

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