The driver responsible for a horrific bus crash that killed 10 wedding guests and injured 25 others will be forced to hear about the terrible impact the tragedy has had on the victims’ families and survivors.
Brett Button, 59, was driving a Linq Buslines bus when it overturned while passing through a roundabout near Greta in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, in June 2023.
He was driving guests to a wedding at the Wandin Valley Estate in nearby Singleton.
In May, Button pleaded guilty to 10 charges of dangerous driving causing death, nine of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and 16 of furious driving causing bodily harm. He has been in custody since then.
Button will hear up to 35 victim impact statements from victims’ families and survivors when he begins his three-day sentence at Newcastle District Court on Monday.
More time may be allotted if testimony lasts more than three days.
Mr Button’s lawyers had sought to have him appear via audio-visual link from Shortland Correctional Centre in Cessnock for the first day of sentencing.
However, Judge Roy Ellis ordered Button to appear, telling the court in June: “He should be here.”
Brett Button, 59, will hear up to 35 statements from victims affected by the fatal bus crash in which he was the driver.
Victim impact statements are expected to take up the bulk of the hearing, before both prosecutors and Button’s defense team present their case. Newcastle News reported.
Several of those who testified traveled to other states to face Button across the courtroom.
Some statements are expected to be read out via audio-visual link, which will be transmitted to Newcastle Court 5.1.
Judge Ellis, one of the most experienced judges in New South Wales, is known for handing down judgments directly after closing arguments.
Those killed in the bus crash were Nadene McBride and her daughter, Kyah, 22, Kane Symons, 21, Andrew Scott, 35, and his wife, Lynan, 33, and Zach Bray, 29, Angus Craig, 28, Darcy Bulman, 30, Tori Cowburn, 29, and Rebecca Mullen, 26.
Prosecutors controversially dropped manslaughter charges against Button earlier this year to secure guilty pleas.
The move was condemned by several families who lost loved ones in the tragedy.
The most serious charges against Button carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, although his initial guilty pleas mean he is entitled to a 25 percent discount.
The deadly bus crash on June 11, 2023 killed 10 people (pictured) and injured 25 more on board.
Button admitted being under the influence of an opioid painkiller while driving the bus.
The sentence could also take into account the time he has spent in custody since making his guilty pleas.
Button admitted to being under the influence of the opioid painkiller Tramadol while driving the bus and to having disturbingly boasted that he could do “doughnuts” with the bus moments before the crash.
While Button has never spoken publicly about the accident, he did issue a statement through his lawyer earlier this year.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about what happened that night,” the statement read.
“Not an hour goes by that I don’t think about the families affected by the accident,”
‘I really feel empathy for everyone involved, including the emergency services.
‘I am devastated by what has happened and I am truly and deeply sorry.
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