Parents charged with manslaughter and abuse after three children died when they drove through floodwaters

‘Not uncommon for that creek to rise during storms like this’

The Rawlings family ((Gofundme https://www.gofundme.com/f/rawlings-tonto-basin/campaign/gallery/0))

The parents of two of the children who died after being swept away in Arizona are facing manslaughter and child abuse charges.

Daniel Rawlings has been charged with 10 counts of reckless manslaughter and child abuse, while his wife Lacey Rawlings has been charged with seven counts of child abuse.

During the Thanksgiving holiday in 2019, the Rawlings’ family truck got stuck as they attempted to cross Tonto Creek, Arizona.

Four children and one adult were later rescued from a sandbar and one woman was rescued from the shore.

However, as they tried to escape the vehicle and make it to shore, Mr and Ms Rawlings’ two children, Colby and Willa Rawlings went missing.

Mr Rawling’s niece, Austin, also disappeared and the deceased bodies of all three were found in the subsequent weeks after an extensive investigation.

Gila County undersheriff Mike Johnson said at the time that “the creek was running at about 2,000 cubic feet per second when this happened,” and that it was a “pretty swift current”.

He added that “it’s not uncommon for that creek to rise during storms like this.”

During a television interview in December, Mr Rawlings and Ms Rawlings criticised those who attacked their actions.

“We don’t have anything to say to them,” Mr Rawlings said. “Everybody’s a critic, and they’re keyboard warriors. Those people may not have ever gone through something tragic in their life.”

Ms Rawlings added: “I hope they don’t have to go through something like this and learn what it really feels like.”

The Arizona House passed a bill after the accidents to fund the construction of Tonto Creek Bridge, that will cost around $15 million.