Grandparents' Sacrifice Saves Toddler in Tragic Playground Accident

There, she was told her mother had died. Her father and son had been taken to separate hospitals. \"It was really hard to describe what I was feeling at the moment,\" said Vicky. \"All of a sudden I went blank, so I asked the police if they could take me to see my son and take my husband to see my dad. \"I was just thinking, maybe I will lose both of them ... I thought to myself if they are all gone, maybe I will just follow them.\"

But when she arrived at the Royal Children’s Hospital, she found her son awake. Stable. Breathing. That, she says, became her reason to live. Vicky says the survival of her son has given her the strength to continue living. \"I hadn’t planned on having children at first, but my parents always said that after they were gone, they hoped there would still be someone in this world connected to me by blood,\" she said. \"Someone who would give me the strength to keep going. I didn’t fully understand what they meant at the time, but now I do. If it weren’t for my son, I don’t think I would have made it through this.

\"Because of him, I need to keep going.\" Ethan, who had rushed to The Alfred to see his father-in-law, broke down when he finally reunited with their son. \"The second I saw my kid, I just couldn’t hold my tears any more,\" he said. \"He had some scratches on his face, but he can still run, he can still play.\" The couple is convinced the boy survived because of his grandparents’ final act of love. \"They had the pram in front of them,\" Ethan said. \"The second they saw the car, they didn’t save themselves. They got my son out of the way.\"

Vicky added: \"He meant the world to them. They loved every moment they had with him.\" Before retiring, Vicky said both her parents led impressive careers working as engineers in China. Ethan and Vicky with their two-year-old son who survived the crash. Credit: Simon Schluter Her mother was a civil engineer who helped design stadiums and large-scale infrastructure projects. \"But at home, she was warm, cheerful and full of life,\" Vicky said. Her father, an electromechanical engineer who worked in mining, was a prodigy – starting university before 15 and graduating at 18. \"He was kind, humble, and so dependable. He was the kind of husband and father anyone would wish for.\"

The two met at work. \"Over time, they fell in love. They were inseparable ever since,\" Vicky said. With her parents caring for her son, Vicky had been able to focus on work and was saving for a family trip in August. \"I’m the only child of my parents,\" she said, fighting tears. \"We are really close … I totally lost the ones who loved me the most in the world.\" Police say the driver of the car, a 91-year-old woman, suffered minor injuries. According to police, she continued driving for nearly 200 metres after the fatal crash, smashing through a playground fence.

She was interviewed on Friday, two weeks after the crash, and released pending further enquiries. Police have not laid any charges. Tracey Jean cared for the injured two-year-old boy after he and his grandparents were hit by the vehicle. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui Vicky believes serious questions must be asked if it’s found the driver suffered a medical episode that caused the fatal crash. \"This was a tragedy that should never have happened,\" she said. \"The driver was over 90 and still legally behind the wheel – a clear sign that the system failed. Driving is a freedom, yes, but it must come with responsibility and safeguards.\" Vicky hopes the death of her parents will spark urgent reform, including mandatory yearly medical and driving assessments for people aged over 75, and a system to flag high-risk drivers, including anonymous reporting by family members.

Flowers left at the site of the crash in Wantirna South. Credit: Justin McManus \"We’ve lost the people we loved most in this world. If their passing can help protect another family from going through the same heartbreak, then maybe, just maybe, some meaning can come from this pain,\" she said. Following the incident, Acting Premier Ben Carroll said there was a \"valid question\" regarding whether Victoria should mandate fitness-to-drive tests for older drivers. NSW, Queensland and Western Australia require drivers aged 75 and older to undergo annual medical assessments. NSW also mandates practical driving assessments every two years for motorists aged 85 and above. Carroll said the government would consider a review after the Wantirna South crash had been investigated.