A mother charged in connection with a car crash that killed her twin daughters four months ago failed to appear in court for the first time because she was “struggling.”
Rachel van Oyen, 31, was due to appear at 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 struck a tree, killing her seven-year-old daughters Macey and Riley near the Wheatbelt town of Carrabin.
Rachel van Oyen, 31 (pictured center) did not appear in court on Monday as she struggles to come to terms with the legal process following the deaths of her two daughters
The girls’ mother, Rachel van Oyen, 31, was behind the wheel when the vehicle left the Great Eastern Highway (pictured) near Carrabin.
They were visiting family in Kalgoorlie and traveling back to Perth when the accident happened around 11am.
All three were wearing seat belts, 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.”
Police have alleged that Van Oysen (pictured center) was driving a car that left the road on the Great Western Highway before the car crashed into a tree, leading to the deaths of her two daughters (pictured left and right) .
“It should have been me,” she wrote.
“What I would give to take your places, my precious girls.
‘I have never felt so helpless as that day. All I could do was try to hold you for a moment, even though you had both grown wings.
“All I can do is try to get through each day now that I know it will never be filled with your beautiful faces.”
A lawyer on duty told the court that Ms Van Oyen had difficulty with the procedure and needed time to submit an application for legal aid.
The case was postponed until August 5.
