Grandparents who pushed their two-year-old grandson out of the way before they were mowed down by a car have been praised for their final act of love.
Vicky’s parents were struck by a Toyota Yaris while walking along a footpath in Wantirna South, in Melbourne’s east, about 12.20pm on Thursday, July 10.
They were on their usual walk home from a playground at Coleman Road Reserve with Vicky’s toddler son, their grandson, in tow.
The grandmother, 59, died at the scene. The grandfather, 60, was rushed to hospital in critical condition and died two days later from a traumatic brain injury.
Miraculously, their grandson survived. He was found near the scene of the crash by a neighbour, Tracey Jean, with only scratches to his face.
Vicky and her husband Ethan, both aged 35, are certain that their son survived the horror crash thanks to the final, desperate act of his grandparents.
‘They had the pram in front of them. The second they saw the car, they didn’t save themselves,’ Ethan told The Age.
‘They got my son out of the way.’
Vicky sad her son had ‘meant the world’ to his grandparents.
Her parents had relocated from China only months before the tragic incident with the sole aim of spending their retirement surrounded by family.
It was at their insistence that Vicky decided to have a child. Now, her son and his miraculous escape is the reason she will continue to live.
‘If it weren’t for my son, I don’t think I would have made it through this,’ she said.
‘Because of him, I need to keep going.’
A 91-year-old woman was behind the wheel of the silver Toyota Yaris at the time of the collision. She suffered minor injuries and was ‘horribly shaken’ by the incident.
Police said the Toyota approached the family from behind and continued driving for nearly 200metres after the fatal impact.
It is not clear whether a medical episode caused the woman to come off the road, but police have suggested she may have been out of control for up to 50metres.
Two weeks out from the loss of her parents, Vicky hopes the incident will encourage Victorian lawmakers to impose stricter rules on elderly drivers.
Mandatory yearly medical and driving assessments for drivers over the age of 75 and a system to spot high-risk drivers are among the changes she has recommended.
The 91-year-old woman was interviewed by police and released pending further enquiries. Police have not laid any charges.