A SUICIDE pact between identical twins could be triggered if one of the women is sent to jail over a crash that cost a young father his arm, a Sydney court heard yesterday.
Sarah Elena Hay, 38, was driving home with her twin sister Elizabeth after a boozy night out when she ploughed her car into the back of a van parked on Barrenjoey Rd, Mona Vale, on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Father-of-two Brendon “Donny” Robson was standing behind the van when Hay’s car careered across the road and pinned him against the vehicle just before 9am on August 15, 2010.
Hay’s doctor Catherine Brassill yesterday told the District Court the sisters were “two halves of one whole” and shared the same depressive illnesses, with her patient now a “major suicide risk” after the smash.
“What one does the other does, they do everything together. I think (any separation) could be catastrophic because they are so totally interdependent,” she said.
“If they suicide, they will do that together too.”
Hay has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm while under the influence of alcohol, a crime that carries a maximum seven-year jail sentence. Mr Robson’s left arm was amputated above the elbow after he was flown to hospital, where the 30-year-old was put in an induced coma following the crash.
He has complained of excruciating and incurable pain from the missing limb, and his recovery had put pressure on his partner and family.
Hay had been drinking at nearby Dee Why on the night and early morning before the crash, according to court documents. Her sister had agreed to pick her up but she had taken over the driving after her twin complained of a headache.
An expert estimated Hay’s blood-alcohol level was about .121 – more than double the legal limit.
The crash happened only a few kilometres from the Newport apartment that the sisters shared.
The sentencing hearing will continue on April 12.
Please see your GP. Suicide prevention links and resources:
Lifeline – 13 11 14 (24-hour help line) www.lifeline.org.au
SANE Australia on 1800 18 SANE (7263) www.SANE.org
Beyondblue Info Line 1300 22 4636 http://www.beyondblue.org.au/
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