The mother of a Hunter Valley bus crash victim has revealed her anguish over her daughter’s death and her anger at the legal system in a speech read to parliament.
In heartbreaking scenes in the NSW Parliament on Wednesday night, Upper Hunter member Dave Layzell read a statement written by Leanne Mullen into the chamber.
Rebecca Mullen was one of 10 people killed on June 11 last year when a bus carrying wedding guests veered onto a roundabout outside the town of Greta, in the Hunter region of New South Wales. .
Brett Andrew Button, 59, pleaded guilty earlier this month 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 a plea agreement, the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped manslaughter charges against Button.
In her heartbreaking statement, Ms. Mullen revealed the moment she arrived at the scene of the accident and her feeling of hopelessness at not being able to care for her daughter.
“I wonder if anyone can imagine what it’s like to live 20 meters from your daughter’s body and not be able to access your baby.”
Leanne Mullen (pictured) wrote of her overwhelming grief and anger in a statement read to the New South Wales Parliament.
Mullen revealed the moment she arrived at the accident scene and her feeling of hopelessness at not being able to care for her daughter Rebecca (pictured).
A traumatic statement written by Ms Mullen was read in the NSW Parliament by Upper Hunter Member Dave Layzell MP (pictured)
“Not being able to kiss her forehead, hold her hand, tell her that we were there for her, that she wasn’t alone, and say everything she needed to say about how much we loved her, how proud we were of the person she had.” ‘how we commit to carrying the memory of her with us as long as we live.’
Mrs. Mullen wrote how she had to hold her husband and son back while they desperately tried to help her daughter and sister.
Recalling how her daughter “stopped being a person that night,” Mrs. Mullen wrote that Rebecca was now “a scientific test.”
‘I don’t blame the police, they were doing their job, but that’s the harsh reality. His body was an object that had to be studied, measured and photographed.
The moment rescuers lifted the bus in a so-called “delicate operation”, bouncing as it landed, haunted Mrs Mullen.
“I want people to remember the images repeatedly shown to the nation of the bus being on its side, my daughter is there,” he wrote.
Mullen said she felt “tortured” thinking about what was happening to her daughter’s body during the process.
‘Was she tied up, was she tied up with duct tape, was she so tangled in the seats that she wouldn’t move, did they just drop her?’
“Every scenario, over and over in my head, night after night.”
She revealed that she was not able to see her daughter until more than two weeks after the accident and that she was in a “cold, sterile morgue.”
Regarding her anger at the justice system and the dropping of manslaughter charges against Button in a plea deal, Mullen wrote that she had tried to maintain her grief over what had happened to herself.
Ten wedding guests died in the accident. Among them were Rebecca Mullen, Zach Bray Angus Craig, Tori Cowburn, Nadene and Kyah McBride, Kane Symons, Andrew and Lynan Scott and Darcy Bulman.
Mullen wrote that she felt “tortured” thinking about what was happening to her daughter’s body during the process of righting the bus.
Button returns to court on May 30 when his sentencing date will be set.
She wrote that while she sacrificed her rights as a mother to hold her daughter as she died, she assumed that “the police were gathering evidence that could be used to ensure that justice was served in relation to this crime.”
‘Unfortunately, that was not the case. My daughter and her friends were not worth the effort of a test.
‘I have lost faith and trust in justice. The helplessness of it all is paralyzing.
“They decided to do what was easy and expedient, rather than what was right.”
Mullen revealed that she feels like she’s the one getting a life sentence, “knowing that the people who could make a difference decided they wouldn’t fight to properly honor Rebecca and her friends as they deserve.”
She wrote that the plea deal has “destroyed any progress we have made to recover from this nightmare.”
Mrs Mullen concluded her emotional statement by writing: “I can’t reconcile that in my head at all and this decision will hurt me every day for the rest of my life.”
On Wednesday, Layzell told Parliament she had read Mullen’s statement to give the grieving mother “an opportunity to be heard”.
He said the plea deal had a profound impact on the families of the crash victims, as the manslaughter charges carried a maximum sentence of 25 years compared to just 10 years for dangerous driving.
“Knowing that the sentence will almost certainly be less than the maximum, and with a 25 percent reduction due to the guilty plea, an offender could be released on parole in just a few years.”
“May the victims rest in peace,” he said.
Button returns to court on May 30 when his sentencing date will be set.
