Rasha Arafa appeals jail sentence for head-on crash that injured victims

A health and wellbeing businesswoman is hoping to stay out of jail after she drunkenly crashed head-on into another car, causing significant injuries to two people.

Rasha Arafa will have to wait next week to learn whether she will go back to jail for causing a head-on crash while drunk. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

A health and wellbeing businesswoman chose to get behind the wheel of her car after she had drunk a bottle of alcohol before she cried “uncontrollably” while speaking about her recently deceased brother she veered onto the wrong side of the road and collided with a car.

Rasha Arafa, 46, appealed her jail sentence in Downing Centre District Court on Monday but will have to wait a week to learn whether she will go back to prison.

Arafa was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment with an eight month non-parole period in May.

She pleaded guilty to aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and causing bodily harm by misconduct while in charge of a motor vehicle.

Arafa – who runs a cryotherapy clinic and spa – was jailed for 15 days before she was released on bail pending the outcome of her appeal.

Arafa will return to court next week.

The court heard Arafa was driving the 20-minute journey in her car in an “erratic manner” on November 4 from Lilyfield to her home in Mount Lewis.

She had drunk a bottle of alcohol before driving and while en route she was spoke to her uncle on the phone about her brother, who had died 11 days prior.

Arafa got emotional and started “crying uncontrollably” before she mounted a median strip and veered onto the wrong side of the road.

She collided with a car, injuring the driver, passenger, and herself.

The court heard Arafa had a blood-alcohol level of 0.183 – more than three and a half times the legal limit.

Less than five years before, Arafa was convicted of another high-range drink driving offence.

In court, Arafa’s barrister Ben Barrack said his client had a “momentary loss of control of the vehicle,” adding she was not speeding.

He conceded she was intoxicated but noted the ongoing or lasting injuries caused to the victim were unknown.

The court heard the victim had “permanent” injuries with scarring to her hand, loss of movement and ache sin her hand and back.

But Mr Barrack noted that was a self assessment made in February and was not based on the opinion of a medical expert.

The court heard Arafa was a law graduate and a qualified pharmacist who ran her ex-husband’s pharmacy for 20 years before her divorce in 2017.

She was isolated and lonely following her divorce and that exacerbated her depressive symptoms, the court heard.

Mr Barrack said Arafa’s businesses had suffered financially during the pandemic but had rebounded.

The court heard Arafa had stopped drinking following her conviction in 2017 but relapsed on the night of incident due to her brother’s death.

Mr Barrack submitted Arafa’s mental health significantly continued to his clients actions.

He said she had expressed genuine remorse, completed a dozen psychology sessions since the incident and was now a qualified alcohol and drug counsellor.

She also completed a traffic offenders program and alcohol and drug rehabilitation program.

The court also heard Arafa was a person of prior good character other than the drink driving conviction and a good driving history with only three speeding matters on her 20-year record.

Mr Barrack submitted Arafa should be sentenced to a community-based order to allow her to continue her rehabilitation and psychology treatment.

A Crown prosecutor said a jail sentence was appropriate given Arafa chose to self medicate when she “drank a bottle of alcohol” then drove, adding the injuries to the victims were serious.

Judge John North will hand down his sentence on Tuesday, August 22.