Macey and Riley, seven, were flung from the car when it slammed into a tree and flipped near Merredin, about 230 kilometres east of Perth, last February.

“They were cheeky, they were fun, they were vibrant. There was a love of Disney, there was always singing and dancing,” said Gem Midgley, a spokesperson for the girls’ father.

The court was told their mother was neither fatigued nor speeding but closed her eyes for a split second, veering left, then overcorrecting. 

The girls were wearing seatbelts but their father believes that wasn’t enough.

“If they were in booster seats or a child car restraint suitable to their size, the outcome may have been different,” Midgley said.

“That haunts our side of the family.

“They were not of size to not be in car seats.”

There were gasps through the courtroom as the sentence was read out.

At times even the magistrate had to compose herself while handing it down. 

Van Oyen will serve two months in prison and six in the community over two counts of careless driving causing death.

Lawyer Michael Ryan said Van Oyen was “not coping very well” with what was “every parent’s worst nightmare”.

“One minute you’re driving along and the kids are in the back. They’re sleeping, they’re just getting on with life and the next minute you don’t have them anymore,” he said.

“You think about that, that’s horrendous for anyone to live through.”