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Preemie dies on day of parents' funeral

An orphaned premature infant whose parents were killed in a car crash died in an Australian hospital on Wednesday, the same day her parents were buried.
/ Source: msnbc.com staff and news service reports

An orphaned premature infant whose parents were killed in a car crash died in an Australian hospital on Wednesday, the same day her parents were buried.

Sydney's Royal Hospital for Women said 3-week-old Lucy Schollbach passed away of complications associated with her premature birth. She was born 12 weeks early on Sept. 1, weighing just under 3 pounds.

Her parents died in a car crash last week while driving home from one of their twice-daily visits to the hospital. Justin Schollbach, 42, and Leah James, 33, were buried hours after their daughter died.

It had been a very difficult day for the bereaved family, Schollbach's childhood friend India Bent told Australia's Herald Sun newspaper.

"She passed away this morning, wanted to be with her mom and dad I think," Bent added. "It's been a very hard day ... the funeral was today for both the parents.

"(Lucy) was Justin's first child, a long-awaited first child."

James had five other children, aged between 6 and 15, the paper said.