Mae Rah Htoo: Katanning woman charged over 2023 Boxwood Hill crash that left two dead

One year on from a devastating crash on WA’s south coast that claimed the lives of two people, a Katanning woman has appeared in court charged with careless driving. Mae Rah Htoo, 51, appeared in Albany Magistrates Court on Tuesday on three counts of careless driving causing death, grievous bodily harm or bodily harm. Representing Ms Htoo, Legal Aid duty lawyer Graeme Payne said his client – who speaks the Karen language, which is spoken by Thai people living in Myanmar – does not speak English and would need a translator. Mr Payne requested an adjournment to Katanning Magistrates Court for legal advice so the court could appoint a translator and Ms Htoo could hire a private practitioner as Legal Aid rejected her application. Magistrate Erin O’Donnell said it might be “tricky” to get a translator, but the court will “have to do our best”. At the request of police prosecutor Sgt Matt Hartfield, the court placed Ms Htoo on a $700 personal undertaking as part of her bail conditions. Ms Htoo will next appear in Katanning Magistrates Court on October 1. A police spokesperson confirmed that the charges relate to a fatal crash in Boxwood Hill on September 2, 2023. Gnowangerup and Albany Police responded to reports of a rolled vehicle on Borden-Bremer Bay Road, west of Gairdner South Road, at about 7.30am. Two of the grey Toyota Hilux utility’s passengers — a 56-year-old man and a 57-year-old woman — died at the scene. The driver managed to pull herself out of the vehicle, while the other trapped passenger, a 57-year-old man, was helped by a passer-by who reported the crash. Paramedics took the injured man and woman to Albany Health Campus, and the woman was airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Major crash investigators charged the 51-year-old woman from Katanning on August 28.