Perth obstetrician pleads guilty to fatal Dalkeith crash charges

Perth obstetrician Rhys Bellinge has pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of a young woman and driving drunk and dangerously in his Jaguar after a crash in February this year that also seriously injured an Uber driver.

The 45-year-old appeared in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on Wednesday where he pleaded to two charges. A third charge of driving under the influence was discontinued.

Bellinge was driving at 130km/h in a 50km/h zone while drunk with tears blurring his vision, the court previously heard, when he crashed into the stationary ride-share car on Birdwood Parade in Dalkeith.

The passenger using the ride-share service, Elizabeth Pearce, 24, died just metres from her destination.

Police prosecutors had previously claimed Bellinge was driving in an arrogant and aggressive manner and ran a red light before accelerating heavily, which caused him to clip the curb and lose control of the vehicle, slamming into the ride-share car which was on the other side of the road.

He blew 0.183 blood alcohol reading at the scene, and admitted to police he had been drinking at his parents’ house while watching a game of football on the TV.

He allegedly told police in an interview that he couldn’t see while driving due to tears in his eyes.

Bellinge and his wife had recently separated, with the court previously hearing dashcam footage from his car at the time of the incident revealed some “unflattering remarks” about her.

He will be sentenced next February.

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