Crash leaves tiny Lucy an orphan

Lucy Schollbach weighed just 1.3kg when born. Photo / Greg Bowker

Tiny Lucy Schollbach is too young to know her parents and now she never will.

Lucy, just 20 days old, lies in the neonatal ward at Sydney's Royal Hospital for Women, newly born and now newly orphaned, the Sunday Telegraph reports.

Justin Schollbach, 42, and Leah James, 33, died in a car accident last week while driving home from the hospital after visiting their daughter - born 12 weeks premature and weighing 1.3kg.

They were only a few minutes from their home in Kurnell, southern Sydney, when their vehicle crashed into a pole.

Lucy was their first child but Ms James has five children aged between 6 and 15, the newspaper said.

Her son Stephen had his 8th birthday on Saturday.

"I'm happy to have all my brothers and sisters here but it's sad that Mum can't come," Stephen said.

Lucy will stay in hospital until November. She is under Department of Community Services care until it is decided who will raise her. Her parents will be buried this week.