The mother of twin daughters, aged seven, was charged with their deaths in a car accident, but she did not attend court because she was “struggling,” according to her counsel.
Following her arrest in February for the horrific incident that killed her children Macey and Riley, Rachel Lisa Van Oyen was charged with two counts of reckless driving. On Monday, she failed to make an appearance in Northam Magistrates Court.
Near the Wheatbelt town of Carrabin in Western Australia, on February 18, Van Oyen allegedly killed her seven-year-old daughters Macey and Riley when her Toyota Camry swerved off the Great Eastern Highway and crashed into a tree.
The accident occurred at around 11 a.m. when they were returning to Perth from a visit to relatives in Kalgoorlie. The twins were declared dead at the site of the accident, and Van Oyen was taken to the hospital. All three were safety belted.
In the days following the accident, the distraught mother sent tributes to her kids on social media, expressing her indescribable grief at the loss of her “precious girls.”
A duty lawyer informed the court that Van Oyen needed more time to apply for Legal Aid since she was having trouble with the process.
The girls were students at Halls Head Primary School when they were killed in the accident.
Macey and Riley were riding shotguns in their mother’s Toyota Camry while they were motoring down the Great Eastern Highway, and the car careened off the road and collided with a tree.
Van Oyen, who was 31 years old, managed to survive the disaster and was subsequently discharged from Merredin Hospital.
Riley and Macey were in the third grade.
Halls Head Primary School Principal Peter Beckingham promised parents in a letter sent out this week that their children would have access to support services if they needed them.
A letter was sent to the addressee with “some very sad news,” saying
over the weekend, they lost two third-year students, and even if their children did not know the victims, they may still need counseling.
