2023 Australian fatal vehicle rollover
On the night of 11 June 2023 a bus overturned at Greta in Australia's Hunter Valley region. The bus was transferring guests from a wedding at Lovedale to Singleton. Ten people were killed and another twenty-five were taken to hospital. The bus driver pleaded guilty to dangerous and negligent driving occasioning death, and was sentenced to 32 years in prison with a non-parole period of 24 years. It was the worst Australian road crash since 1994 when twelve people were killed when a bus overturned near Boondall, Queensland.
Crash.
At 11:30 p.m. AEST on 11 June 2023, a 2009 Volvo B7R bus operated by Linq Buslines overturned while negotiating a grade separated roundabout at the M15 / Wine Country Drive interchange near Greta. The bus was taking guests from a wedding at a winery in Lovedale to a Singleton hotel.
Ten passengers were killed and a further twenty-five were taken to a hospital. The injured were treated at John Hunter Hospital, Maitland Hospital and Calvary Mater in Newcastle, and one was airlifted to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.
Legal proceedings.
The 58-year-old bus driver, Brett Button, was arrested and taken to Cessnock police station. A mandatory drug test determined that he had taken 400 mg of tramadol during the previous 24 hours, enough to impair his driving ability. On 12 June he was charged with ten counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and one count of negligent driving occasioning death. He was released on bail of $10,000. In January 2024, Button was further charged with ten counts of manslaughter.
On 8 May 2024, after the prosecution dropped the manslaughter charges, Button pleaded guilty to ten counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and other charges. He was remanded in custody for sentencing later in 2024. It was also presented in court that Button was addicted to painkillers, and these may have affected his driving performance on the day of the crash.
On 11 September 2024, Button was sentenced to 32 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 24 years.
Aftermath.
The bride and groom were members of the Singleton Roosters Australian football club. The groom was previously a member of Warrandyte Cricket Club, as were nine of the injured guests.
On 16 June 2023, the NSW Office of Transport Safety Investigations announced an investigation into the crash.
References.
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