By Heather McNeill and Amber Wilkinson
A Perth obstetrician accused of causing a horrific crash that killed a young woman and left her ride-share driver fighting for his life was allegedly driving at 130km/h in a 50km/h zone while drunk with tears blurring his vision.
Rhys Bellinge, 45, appeared in Perth Magistrate’s Court on Monday via a bedside hearing, accused of crashing his Jaguar into a stationary ride-share car around 10pm on Saturday night on Birdwood Parade in Dalkeith.
The passenger using the ride-share service, Elizabeth Pearce, 24, died just metres from her destination.
In a statement released through police on Monday afternoon, Pearce’s family said: “Our world is shattered.”
“Our beautiful, bright girl brought sunshine to our lives and we are now in darkness,” the statement read.
Police prosecutors allege Bellinge was driving in an arrogant and aggressive manner and ran a red light before accelerating heavily, which caused him to clip the curb and lose control of the vehicle, slamming into the ride-share car which was on the other side of the road.
He allegedly blew 0.183 blood alcohol reading at the scene, and admitted to police he had been drinking at his parent’s house while watching a game of football on the TV.
It’s claimed he told police in an interview that he couldn’t see while driving due to tears in his eyes.
Bellinge and his wife had recently separated, with the dashcam footage from his car at the time of the incident revealing some “unflattering remarks” about her.
“We have a nine-minute period between 10.02pm and 10.11pm that have put him here, we have an upstanding citizen otherwise,” defence lawyer Tony Hager said.
Police prosecutors opposed bail, saying the offence was too serious and jail was almost certain if Bellinge is convicted.
They also claimed Bellinge and his family were “of extreme wealth” and he could easily flee if released from custody.
Bellinge is the son of multimillionaire businessman Bruce Bellinge.
A magistrate will decide whether to grant him bail on Tuesday after reviewing the dashcam footage.
Witnesses at the crash site on Saturday night described how bystanders rushed to help the woman who died.
“It was just a massive crash … an awful thing to hear,” resident Ellen told 9News Perth, saying a member of the public gave CPR until the ambulance arrived, “quite a bit later”.
The driver of the Honda Jazz, a man in his 20s, was left trapped in the car and emergency services had to cut him out using the jaws of life.
He remains in a serious but stable condition in Royal Perth Hospital.
Rhys Bellinge has been charged with manslaughter.
The doctor also suffered serious injuries and was taken to Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital, where he remains in a spinal brace.
He has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.
Bellinge’s obstetrics website says he will be unavailable for appointments due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
The website described him as a fertility doctor and father-of-two.
“He was a pioneer in freezing human eggs in 2008 and performed Western Australia’s first embryo biopsy for genetic testing in 2005,” it read.
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correction
An earlier version of this article reported an incorrect speed allegation against Rhys Bellinge. The allegation is he was travelling at 130km/h.