A couple who drove their family car into floodwater resulting in the deaths of three children have been spared jail after their surviving kids begged for them to come home.
Daniel Rawlings, 38, and Lacey Rawlings, 34, from Arizona, USA, purposely drove their truck into an overflowing creek which led to the tragic deaths of two of their children and their niece.Daniel, who was driving, was sentenced to five years probation on Thursday, Jan. 27, while mum Lacey was sentenced to four years.
They avoided prison after judge Timothy Wright listened to the pleas of their other surviving children who managed to escape the vehicle.
The couple were criminally charged after they ploughed their truck through an overflowing stream after Thanksgiving in 2019, despite there being signs and barricades warning motorists to not cross Tonto Creek.
The car was soon flooded with water which saw the couple and four of their children escape, while kids Colby, 5, and Willa, 6, and their niece Austin, 5, had been swept away before they drowned Mr Rawlings had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and child abuse charges, while Ms Rawlings pleaded guilty to child abuse charges, reports the New York Post.
The mum told the court that her family are still trying to recover from the devastating incident and pleaded with the judge to "have our family together."
