Jail cut for driver who killed four kids

Margaret Scheikowski | July 15, 2022

A drunk and drugged driver who killed four children walking along a Sydney footpath to buy ice-creams has had his jail term slashed.

Samuel William Davidson was driving erratically and speeding when he struck Veronique Sakr, 11, and her cousins, Sienna Abdallah, eight, and her siblings Angelina, 12, and Antony, 13.

The 31-year-old ploughed into them after his ute mounted a kerb at Oatlands, in Sydney’s northwest on February 1, 2020.

He was jailed in April 2021 for 28 years with a non-parole period of 21 years.

But on Friday in a majority decision, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal concluded the term was manifestly excessive.

Davidson was resentenced to a term of 20 years with a non-parole period of 15 years.

The professional truck driver pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the children he killed and also pleaded guilty to three charges relating to the injuries caused to three other children.

One boy has suffered permanent brain damage.

Danny and Leila Abdallah, parents of three of the children who were killed, have previously said they had forgiven the driver.