Mother jailed after crash kills twin daughters

A mother from Halls Head has been sentenced to two months in jail after a car crash that killed her twin daughters. Rachel Van Oyen, 32, crashed her car into a tree on Great Eastern Highway last February. The accident happened as they were traveling to Perth after visiting family. The court heard that Van Oyen took her eyes off the road for just a moment. Her daughters, Macey and Riley, were both seven years old and wearing seatbelts at the time. They were ejected from the car and died at the scene. Van Oyen was charged with two counts of careless driving causing death. During the court proceedings, her lawyer argued that fatigue and speed were not factors in the crash. He explained that she briefly closed her eyes, causing the car to veer off the road. The car then clipped a tree and rolled over. The girls’ father, Darius James, attended the sentencing and expressed his grief. He noted that proper car restraints for the children's size might have changed the outcome. A family friend echoed his sentiments, highlighting the importance of road safety. Van Oyen received an eight-month jail term for each of the girls' deaths, but they will be served at the same time. This means she will spend only two months in prison before being released on a conditional sentence for six months, with the rest of her sentence suspended for a year.