Hunter Valley bus crash decision a ‘kick in the teeth’: Father of son killed in collision lashes out after manslaughter charges against driver are dropped

A distraught father, whose son was one of 10 people killed in the Hunter Valley bus crash, said the victims’ family were “sold a bit of the story” after manslaughter charges against him were dropped. driver.

Brett Andrew Button, 59, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of dangerous driving causing death, nine counts of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and 16 counts of furious driving causing bodily harm in the June 2023 crash.

Adam Bray, whose son Zach, 29, died in the tragedy, told A Current Affair that the reduction in charges was “more than a kick in the teeth.”

“It reopens wounds and triggers and evokes, obviously, some anger, but I’m trying to keep a balance and stick to the facts and hope we can achieve some positive results,” Mr Bray said.

“Thirty-six hours before court (Wednesday), all the families were told, sold a bit of a story to be honest… that’s extremely disappointing and I will continue to fight.”

He said just five weeks ago there were “89 charges, including 10 counts of involuntary manslaughter” against Button.

Bray said the reduction in charges was “completely wrong, and is it necessary to take these 10 lives to improve bus and coach safety in Australia?”

The devastated father’s response came after it emerged Button was dependent on drugs and prescription painkillers in his system when the bus crashed.

“It is criminal to drive a vehicle, a heavy vehicle in Australia, particularly with 35 passengers on board, when you are medicated,” Mr Bray said.

“So reducing it to lower loads is not balanced.”

The bus, returning from a wedding reception, overturned at a roundabout near Greta, in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, on June 11 last year, killing 10 people and injuring 25 others.

In addition to Zach Bray, mother and daughter Nadene and Kyah McBride, Kyah’s boyfriend Kane Symons, husband and wife Andrew and Lynan Scott, Angus Craig, Darcy Bulman, Tori Cowburn and Rebecca Mullen were killed.

Bray was crying as she said her son was an “amazing man” who had recently overcome stage 3 bowel cancer.

He said the dropping of the murder charges made him feel like he was “pretty much back to square one” emotionally and was “another huge challenge.”

‘We will do everything possible to overcome it, but we will also try to achieve legal reform so that 10 beautiful people do not die in vain.

“It’s far from fair, let’s try to unite around the government, let’s try to unite with the attorney general, let’s get some public opinion, let’s try to create some justice, that’s all we can do.”

When the manslaughter charge in Rebecca Mullen’s death was dismissed Wednesday, her father Matt began sobbing loudly and visibly reacted.

Outside court, he told reporters that he had not slept at all the previous night in anticipation of the Crown’s public announcement that it would drop the charges.

Despite his pain, Mullen managed to feel compassion for other people affected by the fatal accident.

“Our hearts and thoughts go out to the driver’s family,” he said.

Rebecca’s mother Leanne said she disapproved of the Crown’s decision but it was just a small fraction of the pain she felt at the loss of her daughter.

He said he would wait to see what happened at Button’s sentencing.

Leanne said the news of the reduced charges, which the families were told just 36 hours before Button’s hearing, had been devastating.

“As a mother, being able to hug her while she was still warm, hold her hand, kiss her on the forehead and tell her the things I needed to say that were denied to me because it was a crime scene,” she said.

“But now it seems to me that those sacrifices I made as a mother were not respected.”