A Halls Head mother will spend the next two months behind bars after a magistrate jailed her over the deaths of her twin daughters in a car crash last February deemed “unquestionably serious”.
Rachel Van Oyen, 32, was travelling on Great Eastern Highway in Carrabin when her Toyota Camry sedan veered off the road and crashed into a tree.
Rachel van Oyen with her twin daughters, Macey and Riley, who died in a crash last year.Credit: Facebook
The children were travelling to Perth with their mother after visiting family in Kalgoorlie for a wedding. They were all wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
Van Oyen was charged with two counts of careless driving causing death, grievous bodily harm or bodily harm.
On Wednesday, she sobbed through proceedings in Northam Magistrates Court where her lawyer Michael Ryan said there was no suggestion that fatigue or speed played a part in the incident and that Van Oyen had “done all the right things” by stopping for breaks during the long drive.
Rachel Van Oyen on her way into Northam Magistrates Court on Wednesday.Credit: Rebecca Peppiatt
“The circumstances around this incident is that Ms Van Oyen has closed her eyes for a second, not even a second, the vehicle has veered slightly, to the shoulder, she could see there was a roadside marker, her instinct was to veer to the right to avoid the collision with that marker,” he told the court.
“She’s applied too much right direction on that steering wheel, created a perfect situation when the vehicle has slid sideways.”
The court was told the car clipped a tree with a rear tyre before it landed on its roof. Both children were ejected from the car and died at the scene.
Their father, Darius James, who was separated from Van Oyen at the time of the girls’ deaths, attended the sentencing and told media outside court nothing could bring back his daughters.
“If they were in child car restraints suitable to their size, the outcome may have been different,” a family friend said on behalf of the girls’ father.
“That haunts our side of the family.
“Every time our side of the family had the girls, they were always in car seats. They were not of size to not be in car seats.”
The woman said she hoped the girls’ deaths would lead to renewed focus on road safety measures.
“Nothing can bring them back,” she said.
“No consequence can change that gut-wrenching tragedy. But there is a level of responsibility to be had. That’s an awfully long journey to take on your own.
“It is your responsibility to drive with due care and attention. It is your responsibility to make sure your children are as safe as they can possibly be.”
The woman said Macey and Riley were “cheeky, fun and vibrant”, that they loved Disney and were always singing and dancing.
Van Oyen received an eight-month jail term for each of the girls’ deaths, to be served concurrently, which Magistrate Sarah Oliver partly suspended, meaning she will spend two months behind bars before being released on a conditional suspended sentence for six months.
The rest of her sentence is suspended for a period of 12 months.
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