Western Australia mum charged over car crash that killed 7yo twin daughters

The Perth woman has been accused of careless driving when the fatal crash occurred.

A Perth mother has been charged over a car crash that claimed the lives of her two daughters in February.

On 18 February, Rachel van Oyen was behind the wheel of her white Toyota Camry with her seven-year-old twin daughters, Macey and Riley.

At approximately 11am that morning, the car veered off the Great Eastern Highway in Carrabin, Western Australia, and hit a tree. 

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Perth mum Rachel was charged with two counts of careless driving causing death, grievous bodily harm or bodily harm.

Mum charged after twin daughters die in crash

Despite all three wearing seatbelts during the car ride, her two daughters were killed in the crash.

Rachel was taken to Merredin Hospital but was later discharged with minor injuries. 

RELATED: ‘Magical twins’: Tributes pour in for 7yo girls tragically killed in car crash

It’s understood Rachel and her daughters were visiting family in Kalgoorlie and were on their way back home to Perth when the crash occurred. 

Rachel was due to appear in Northam Magistrates Court on Monday but did not show, as she was “struggling” with the process. 

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The woman was charged with two counts of careless driving causing death, grievous bodily harm or bodily harm.

The matter has been adjourned until 5 August, so Rachel may apply for LegalAid. 

RELATED: ‘Should have been me’: Mum’s heartbreaking tribute to twins killed in WA crash

Macey and Riley died in the crash.

"You gave me so much purpose; you gave me a strength like no other; you gave me reason to live"

Following the death of her daughters, the WA mum took to social media to pen a heartbreaking tribute to her girls. 

“In a blink of an eye, everything changed. My entire world fell apart, vanished,” she said. “There are still no words to describe this emptiness and pain I’m drowning in.

“It should have been me,” she said. 

“What I would give to take your places, my precious girls. I have never felt so helpless than I did that day, all I could do was try hold you briefly even though you’d both [grown] wings.

“Nothing makes sense now, you two were my absolute world, and nothing made me more complete being your mother,” the tribute continued. 

“You gave me so much purpose; you gave me a strength like no other; you gave me reason to live.

“How can we plan a future without the ones we planned to build one with? How can I be in our house when it’s no longer a home?” read the tribute. 

“The silence kills me and your absence destroys us in ways we can’t imagine ... I’m so lost.”

Originally published as Western Australia mum charged over car crash that killed 7yo twin daughters