Share and Follow
Police allege a high-profile Perth obstetrician was drunk and speeding when his Jaguar crashed into an Uber in an affluent suburb in the city’s west, killing a young woman.
Rhys Bellinge is accused of a wild nine-minute drive through Dalkeith that ended in the death of Elizabeth Pearce, 24, on Saturday night.
Police allege Bellinge’s blue Jaguar hit the Honda Jazz Pearce was a passenger in when he crossed onto the wrong side of Birdswood Parade after reaching speeds of up to 130km/h and running red lights.
He allegedly blew 0.183 on his initial breath test.
The 45-year-old fronted court today from hospital, charged with the University of Western Australia masters student’s manslaughter.
His lawyer pushed for bail, telling the court his client was emotional after recently separating from his wife and was unable to see the road because he had “tears in his eyes”.
“A nine-minute period between 10.02 and 10.11 has put him here – we have an upstanding citizen otherwise,” the lawyer said.
Prosecutors claimed his driving was “arrogant, aggressive and intentional”, telling the court they were worried about his wife’s safety after hearing comments about her on the dash cam from inside his car.
“He and his family are of extreme wealth. He could quite easily flee,” they argued.
Bellinge is described on his website as a pioneer in freezing human eggs, performing Western Australia’s first embryo biopsy for genetic testing in 2005.
His patients were today told he would be unavailable “due to unforeseen circumstances”.
The magistrate delayed a decision on bail until tomorrow so she can review the dash cam footage herself.