A mum trying to create magical school holiday memories for her children has died after a horror backyard accident unfolded before their eyes.
Charlotte Rose-Ann Hill was preparing a BBQ at her Sydney home so the family could roast marshmallows when she was suddenly engulfed in flames.
The 38-year-old’s terrified son and daughter watched in horror as their mother screamed for help.
Sign up to The Nightly’s newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.
The brave youngsters — aged just 11 and seven respectively — desperately tried to save her.
Charlotte’s son grabbed his jacket and used it to try to smother the flames, while his younger sister screamed for their father, who was inside getting ready for work.
Charlotte Rose-Ann Hill was preparing a BBQ at her Sydney home so the family could roast marshmallows when she was suddenly engulfed in flames. Credit: Supplied
“The children were so brave and so heroic in those moments,” cousin Bianca Hill told news.com.au.
“The youngest screamed the loudest she has ever screamed in her life to alert their dad.”
Their father rushed to his wife’s aid and gave first aid until paramedics arrived.
Charlotte suffered severe burns to her face and hands before being rushed to hospital, with Bianca joining her in the ambulance.
“I jumped in the ambulance with her and she was in so much agony,” Bianca said.
“Watching someone that you love suffer like that… it seriously broke me.”
Despite the pain, Charlotte remained in good spirits and was able to joke with her cousin before undergoing emergency surgery.
Her family clung to hope after she survived the operation and believed she was improving.
But just hours later, the family got the the devastating news that Charlotte had been found unresponsive in hospital and had died from her injuries.
“We’ll never hear her laugh again,” Bianca said. “We’re just so deeply heartbroken for her children.”
The tragedy is made even more tearful because Charlotte had witnessed the death of her own mother as a child.
According to Bianca, she never wanted her own children to endure the same unimaginable loss.
“She’d do anything to make sure they had a happy childhood,” Bianca she said.
