‘Devastating’ blow is dealt to families of Hunter Valley bus crash victims

Two fathers who lost loved ones in the Hunter Valley crash say they are devastated after learning the manslaughter charge against the bus driver cannot be reinstated.

Matt Mullen and Adam Bray met with Attorney General Michael Daley on Monday to appeal the decision to drop serious charges against Brett Button as part of a plea deal.

Button pleaded guilty to 10 counts of dangerous driving causing death in exchange for the manslaughter charge being dropped.

The meeting with Mr Daley lasted an hour before both fathers left disappointed with the outcome.

“There is no reinstatement or reinstatement of the manslaughter charges – it has already gone through the court,” Mr Bray told the court. Daily telegram.

“This is now about reform.”

Mr Bray said the focus would shift to ensuring Button was convicted correctly and improving the DPP’s communications processes.

“There has been tremendous improvement in communication with the families of the victims and the survivors,” he said.

“We have just received a commitment and commitment from the Attorney General that he will work with us and his team to ensure that DPP communications are improved.”

Button’s guilty plea could result in a 25 percent sentence reduction on the most serious charges against him, for which the maximum sentence is ten years.

Now the loved ones of those who died in the horrific bus crash at Greta, in NSW’s Hunter Valley, on June 11, 2023, are concerned Button will spend just a few years in prison for killing 10 and injuring another 25 passengers.

Mr Mullen, the father of Rebecca Mullen – a junior doctor in Newcastle, said he and Mr Bray, the father of 29-year-old cancer survivor Zach Bray, have sought legal advice on the facts set out in the agreed statement of facts.

The document, signed by Button, stated that the driver was under the influence of Tramadol, an opiate painkiller, at the time of the accident.

It was found that the amount of Tramadol in Button’s system, 400mg, would have affected him ‘to such an extent that there would have been some impairment of his ability to drive’.

Button had been taking the drug since 2016 and had previously been fired from a bus company due to his use of the medication.

According to the facts, there was also no evidence that Button told Linq Buses, the company he was driving for the night of the accident, that he was taking Tramadol despite mandatory self-reporting laws.

Button also agreed that the drug can cause respiratory depression, euphoria, drowsiness, mental clouding, unsteadiness, impairments in visual memory and function, comprehension, attention, problem solving and decision-making.

Mr Mullen believes the facts show Button had a long history of drug abuse and did not simply make a split-second choice while behind the wheel.

Bus driver Brett Button (pictured) pleaded guilty to 10 counts of dangerous driving causing death in exchange for manslaughter charges being dropped

Mr Mullen described his meeting with the Attorney General as a ‘last ditch effort by a desperate father who loves his daughter’ (Photo: Mr Mullen’s daughter – young doctor Rebecca Mullen)

“I want to ask this question: What, according to society, should be the punishment for a man who has admitted to being addicted to opiates, who quit his job and did not tell his new employee that he was dependent, and knew that he was suffered from? by drugs,” he said.

‘Cause it doesn’t matter what I think. My feelings are personally so great that my judgment is impaired because I am the father of someone who was on that bus, so what he gets is obviously important to me.

“But I would ask what society thinks of a person with his history of drug use and the way he acted that night, what does society think is fair.”

Button will appear at Newcastle District Court on Thursday after being convicted of the deaths of Bec Mullen, Zach Bray, Darcy Bulman, Andrew and Lynan Scott, Tori Cowburn, Angus Craig, Nadene and Kyah McBride and Kane Symons.

He will also face nine charges of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and 16 charges of causing grievous bodily harm by deliberate driving.

His appearance on Thursday is expected to be postponed until a sentencing date.

Mr Mullen described his meeting with the attorney general as a “last ditch effort by a desperate father who loves his daughter.”

The loved ones of those who died in the bus crash are concerned that Button will spend only a few years in prison for killing 10 and injuring another 25 passengers (photo, makeshift memorial to the victims after the crash)

Button will appear at Newcastle District Court on Thursday after being convicted of the deaths of Bec Mullen, Zach Bray, Darcy Bulman, Andrew and Lynan Scott, Tori Cowburn, Angus Craig, Nadene and Kyah McBride and Kane Symons

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions released a statement last month following the withdrawal of the manslaughter charges.

“The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions deeply sympathizes with the families of those who died in this tragic event, and with the victims who were injured,” the report said.

‘The decision to accept a guilty plea involves complex factual and legal issues. These decisions are always made after careful consideration of the evidence and in accordance with prosecutorial guidelines.”