A Perth obstetrician will remain in police custody after a magistrate refused bail over allegations he was driving dangerously before a crash which killed a 24-year-old woman on the weekend.
Rhys Bellinge, 45, is accused of crashing his Jaguar into an Uber in the affluent western suburb of Dalkeith about 10pm on Saturday, killing University of WA marine biology student Elizabeth Pearce and leaving her driver, a man in his 20s, with two broken legs and a broken arm.
Perth obstetrician Rhys Bellinge has been charged over a fatal crash at the weekend.Credit: Facebook
Bellinge has a fracture to his spine and is currently in a spinal brace.
Prosecutors allege Bellinge blew a blood alcohol reading of 0.183 at the scene, nearly four times the legal limit, and was driving at 130km/h in a 50km/h zone as he made “unflattering and disgraceful” comments about his wife.
Magistrate Clare Cullen refused to grant the doctor bail on Wednesday, three days after his lawyer Tony Hager brought the application before Perth Magistrates Court. Bellinge is charged with dangerous driving and manslaughter.
Cullen told the court Bellinge was too great a risk to the community, as she took into consideration dash camera footage submitted by police of the doctor “ranting” about his ex-wife and “aggression to the world at large”.
Bellinge participated in the hearing from a bedside audio link and could be heard crying when the application was denied.
The well-known obstetrician, who comes from one of Perth’s richest families, had offered surety of $1 million dollars and strict home detention conditions if bail was granted.
But Cullen said there was a “suggestion that when under emotional upset there is a real risk of reckless behaviour”.
Elizabeth Pearce was killed in the crash.Credit: LinkedIn
Cullen detailed two files of video footage she watched, allegedly of Bellinge driving on February 8 and 9 – a week before Saturday’s crash – which she said showed him driving dangerously, at high speed and, at times, without a seatbelt.
She said Bellinge could allegedly be heard venting frustration at other drivers as he crossed the middle lane marking into oncoming traffic briefly before calling other drivers “cowards” while laughing.
“The driver is subjectively aware that the vehicle they are driving is high-powered,” Cullen said, telling the court Bellinge could allegedly be heard calling his car “super-powered” in the footage while speeding.
Cullen also indicated Bellinge had been engaging with a couples’ counsellor with his ex-wife, who he had recently separated from. The court was told Bellinge is a father of two children aged eight and five.
In an attempt to secure bail for his client, Hager said that while the comments made by Bellinge toward his ex-wife in the dash cam footage were “disgraceful at times and unflattering, there was no suggestion it has ever gone beyond words”.
Bellinge will next appear via video link at Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on March 19.
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