Rhys Bellinge: Doctor accused of manslaughter over Dalkeith crash snuck out of hospital to be taken to prison

The obstetrician accused of manslaughter following a horror road smash was taken to the infirmary at Casuarina Prison after a secretive late-night mission to transfer him from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital several hours earlier. Dr Rhys Bellinge was kept away from a media contingent outside the hospital on Thursday night. Despite initial plans to transfer Dr Bellinge through a main hospital entrance, the plan changed at the last minute about 9pm, meaning his exit unfolded without the public seeing. He had spent five nights in hospital with spine injuries from the Dalkeith crash which killed Elizabeth Pearce and critically injured rideshare driver Mohammad Usman. The Department of Justice, which managed the arrangements, declined to answer questions on the circumstances of Dr Bellinge’s transportation. “The Department doesn’t comment on individual cases or disclose details of the transfer or placement of people in custody,” a spokesperson said. “There are a variety of vehicles available for use to transport prisoners. Decisions regarding the transport of prisoners are made either by Corrective Services or a third-party contractor with consideration to the safety, security and welfare of the prisoner and community.” Premier Roger Cook, also quizzed about the transport arrangements, said: “I don’t know if he was moved covertly. I don’t know the operational imperatives or what had happened as part of his transfer. Mr Usman, 25, has commented for the first time, saying: “I am still struggling to comprehend what happened last Saturday night and my thoughts are with Elizabeth Pearce’s family. “Thank you to the first responders and the staff at RPH for looking after me with such great care and understanding.” The West understands Dr Bellinge, a father-of-two, was taken to Casuarina’s infirmary on arrival to continue his recovery from his injuries. He fractured his vertebrae and was in a spinal brace to restrict movement, that would need to stay on for at least a month. He presently can’t walk unaided but is expected to eventually make a full recovery, a court was told this week. “He can’t sit, stand on his own, roll over or take his clothes on or off without assistance,” his lawyer Tony Hager said. Bruce Bellinge, who had visited his son while he was in hospital, declined to comment on Friday when asked about his son’s incarceration. Dr Bellinge, from one of WA’s richest families, was remanded in custody after his bail application was refused by Magistrate Clare Cullen on Wednesday. The obstetrician had offered up a $1 million surety, while promising to stay at his father’s multimillion-dollar mansion 24/7. The magistrate made the decision to decline the application and remand him in custody after viewing footage taken from the dash cam of Dr Bellinge’s luxury blue Jaguar. She not only considered his diving on the night of the collision, but also of his alleged erratic behaviour in the days before, including allegedly hooning around Kings Park on the night of February 9. After seeing the vision she concluded he posed a risk of re-offending if given bail. “I find the risk to the community is too great and for those reasons I refuse bail,” she said. Dr Bellinge was charged with manslaughter and dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm in circumstances of aggravation following the crash on Birdwood Parade, near Waratah Avenue, Dalkeith, around 10.15pm last Saturday. Police prosecutors said he was “accelerating” and “aggressively” speeding, reaching 130km/h, while being almost four times over the legal drink-drive limit prior to the fatal impact. He allegedly had a blood alcohol reading of 0.183 at the time of the head-on crash. The legal limit is 0.05. The speed limit on Birdwood Parade is 50km/h. The 45-year-old was driving from the Nedlands home of his estranged wife Juli to his father’s mansion on Jutland Parade, Dalkeith — just 1.5km away — when his Jaguar hit a kerb and lost control, veering onto the wrong side of the road, crashing into the Honda Jazz rideshare car being driven by Mr Usman. Moments prior to the crash, Ms Pearce had got into the passenger seat of the Honda. She was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital but her injuries were too extensive to save her. She was on the cusp of a bright future in the mining industry, having just completed a summer internship with Woodside, which followed her graduation from the University of WA. Mr Usman, who broke both legs and an arm in the incident, was moved out of intensive care on Wednesday after waking from his coma. He remained too unwell to talk to police about the incident. The Pakistan-born driver had just completed his own studies and was about to embark on a new job. He has no family in Australia, but has been visited by friends. In court this week, police claimed Dr Bellinge had initially blamed Mr Usman for the crash. They said body-worn camera footage taken by officers at the scene recorded Dr Bellinge attempting to minimise his actions. “It’s our position he sought to blame the other driver,” the police prosecutor said. “He said ‘They cleaned me up’ . . . that the other ‘vehicle was moving real fast’.” The prosecutor said when he was in the ambulance, he denied he was responsible, again saying: “Wait a minute, wait a minute, they came out of nowhere. Why the f... am I the bad guy here, I only had two beers.” Three hours after the incident, after he’d been told Ms Pearce had died, the prosecutor said he again “minimised” his involvement, allegedly saying: “It was such a routine drive home.” The prosecutor told the court when Dr Bellinge was interviewed by police the next day, he changed his account and told them that he remembered “crying” and “wiping my face and I look up and the car is turning in front of me. It didn’t feel like I slowed down much”. Mr Hager told the court on Monday that his client had “an explosion of poor judgement”. He said he was an emotional man recently estranged from his wife and was crying so hard he could not see the road. His wife had left him and they’d been living apart for five weeks. There was no formal separation yet, nor any family court action or violence involved. However, the prosecution said they were “concerned” for Dr Bellinge’s wife, stating “his views of her are evident in the dashcam footage”. The court was told the obstetrician could be heard on the dashcam recordings allegedly ranting and using profanities to describe his wife, as he drove. Mr Hager said the newly-split couple had been attending marriage counselling since January 11 with the final session occurring on Valentine’s Day, the day before the crash. He said over that period, Dr Bellinge had been seeing a psychologist and was on medication in a bid to help him cope with his trauma over the marriage breakdown. It was the footage from February 9 of him driving aggressively in Kings Park six days before the Dalkeith carnage — that convinced the magistrate to deny his bail. In the footage, Ms Cullen said, Dr Bellinge can allegedly be seen driving at night at speeds between 60km/h to 90km/h. At one point, she told the court, the prominent doctor, allegedly reached 93km/h and could be heard saying “f... off” after passing another vehicle. He then allegedly reached 108km/h, forcing another car to pull over to the side of the road and allegedly can be heard saying: “This car is amazing, it’s superpowered.” Ms Cullen said at another point the footage seems to show the Jaguar allegedly crossing on to oncoming traffic and the driver can be heard laughing before making derogatory comments at other cars calling them “cowards”. The court was also told on the day of the crash, Dr Bellinge was allegedly driving between speeds of 45km/h up to 130km/h and yelling general profanities throughout the area where he lived. Ms Cullen said the footage showed him coming up behind one road user while allegedly driving 108km/h before allegedly reaching 130km/h. “The vehicle then slows 90km/h,” she said. “The other road user expresses concern and pulls over to the kerb. The vehicle can then be seen slowing behind the car to 40km/h.” The court was told Dr Bellinge then overtook the car before allegedly entering a roundabout between 40km/h to 59km/h. The car can then be seen allegedly entering another roundabout at 109km/h before slowing down to 80-90km/h, overtaking another vehicle before briefly crossing a white line as it approaches a slight bend and oncoming traffic, the court was told. Ms Cullen says it was at this point Dr Bellinge appeared to lose control and veered on to the other side of the road and allegedly crashed into the Honda Jazz. As she delivered her decision, Dr Bellinge could be heard crying on the audio link from his hospital bed. After viewing the footage, the magistrate said she had concerns that someone who was said to have “good, solid judgment could act in such a manner”. She said Dr Bellinge’s intentional risk-taking behaviour lent itself to suggest that when he is emotionally upset, there was a “real risk of reckless behaviour being committed against the community whether or not mental health or alcohol is involved”. Police remain keen to speak to witnesses who may have seen Dr Bellinge’s blue Jaguar sedan in the hour before the fatal crash. Earlier on Thursday, WA Police launched a fresh appeal for information regarding the movements of Dr Bellinge’s blue Jaguar sedan in the hour before the fatal crash. Officers will be available to speak to members of the public with information at Birdwood Parade in Dalkeith on Saturday between 10am and 2pm. Bruce Bellinge, an IVF pioneer and businessman, earlier in the week spoke of his family’s devastation over the tragedy. “We are devastated for the young woman and her family and the driver and his family,” he said. “The grief and pain they must be feeling at the moment are totally overwhelming.” Both the Bellinge family and Juli Bellinge have engaged public relations companies. Dr Bellinge is next expected to appear in court in March.