A mother charged over a car crash that claimed the lives of her twin daughters four months ago failed to make her first appearance in court because she was “struggling”.
Rachel van Oyen, 31, was due to appear in the Northam Magistrates Court on Monday after police charged her with two counts of careless driving causing death, grievous bodily harm or bodily harm.
Police allege that on February 18, Ms van Oyen was driving a Toyota Camry that veered off the Great Eastern Highway in Western Australia and hit a tree, killing her seven-year old daughters Macey and Riley near the Wheatbelt town of Carrabin.
They had been visiting family in Kalgoorlie and were travelling back to Perth when the crash happened about 11am.
All three were wearing seatbelts, but the twins were pronounced dead at the scene and Ms van Oyen was rushed to hospital.
In the days after the crash, the heartbroken mother paid tribute to her daughters on social media, saying there were no words to describe the emptiness and pain of losing her “precious girls.”
“It should have been me,” she wrote.
“What I would give to take your places, my precious girls.
“I have never felt so helpless than I did that day – all I could do was try to hold you briefly even though you’d both grown wings.
“All I can do is try to make it through each day now knowing it’ll never be filled with your beautiful faces.”
A duty lawyer told the court that Ms van Oyen was struggling with the process and required time to make a Legal Aid application.
The matter was adjourned until August 5.