Mum raked in $40,000 from kind-hearted Aussies after her daughter, 11, tragically drowned. Now she's faced court accused of causing her death by crashing into a dam while on drugs

By CANDACE SUTTON, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 00:42, 31 July 2026 | Updated: 00:42, 31 July 2026 A mother given more than $40,000 from a GoFundMe appeal after she allegedly drove into a remote dam, killing her daughter, 11, has faced court over the tragedy. The 50-year-old - who the Daily Mail is prohibited from naming to protect the identity of her dead child - is accused of drug and driving offences, and causing the girl's death. She made her first appearance at Tenterfield Local Court in northern NSW to face four charges over the accident on Thursday. The mother is alleged to have crashed her SUV into a tree off the Bruxner Highway in the NSW Northern Tablelands on the afternoon of September 10 last year. The woman's car is then alleged to have entered the dam and sunk around 3.30pm.  Rescuers pulled she and her young daughter from the vehicle, but emergency service workers could not revive the girl. Police have now charged the mother with dangerous driving occasioning death - driving in a dangerous manner, negligent driving occasioning death, driving under the influence of drugs and driving a vehicle with illicit drug present in blood. Following the accident, the woman said her child was 'the light of my life' and a 'gift from God'. A still-active GoFundMe campaign raised more than $40,000 for her. A mother given more than $40,000 from a GoFundMe appeal after she allegedly drove into a remote dam, killing her daughter, 11, has faced court over the tragedy  Following the accident, the woman said her child was 'the light of my life' and a 'gift from God'  The mother is alleged to have crashed her SUV into a tree off the Bruxner Highway in the NSW Northern Tablelands on the afternoon of September 10 last year and sunk in a dam  Overwhelming community grief and donations flooded in after the crash, which the woman said at the time spurred her on to 'share a message of hope'. 'If we can come away in our darkest of days and have gratitude, then we can learn we can choose to have hatred or we can choose to have love,' she said.  After a lengthy investigation, including examination of dashcam footage, detectives laid charges against the woman in June.  She appeared before Judge Mark Richardson on Thursday and the case will return to Armidale Local Court on August 19.