Hunter Valley wedding bus driver hit with more than 40 new charges over crash that killed 10 people
Hunter Valley wedding bus driver hit with more than 40 new charges over crash that killed 10 people
- Wedding bus driver charged with new charges
- Brett Andrew Button, 58, charged a total of 63 offences
- He must appear in court on August 9
The man behind the wheel of a bus that killed 10 wedding guests when it crashed in the Hunter Valley has been hit with more than 40 additional charges.
Ten people were killed and 25 injured when the bus crashed in Greta, NSW, on June 11 while guests were being taken to Singleton from a wedding in Lovedale.
Bus driver Brett Andrew Button, 58, was charged with 10 counts each of dangerous driving resulting in death and negligent driving resulting in death.
He received strict conditional bail on the 20 charges.
Button was hit with another 43 charges on Thursday and now faces 63 in total.
Brett Andrew Button was charged with 10 counts of dangerous and negligent driving resulting in death following the crash and has now been hit with a further 43 charges
Ten people were killed and 25 injured when the bus crashed in Greta, NSW, while guests were being taken from a wedding in Lovedale to Singleton on June 11 (pictured, the overturned bus)
The new charges include dangerous driving resulting in grievous bodily harm, negligent driving resulting in grievous bodily injury, and causing bodily harm by misconduct.
The new offenses include nine charges each of dangerous and negligent driving resulting in grievous bodily harm.
According to reports, there were an additional 25 new charges of causing bodily harm through misconduct.
Button was granted conditional bail by Cessnock local court earlier this year.
The 58-year-old was driving the bus transporting guests from Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell’s wedding at the Wandin Estate winery.
Police allege Button was speeding as he entered a roundabout and rolled near the Hunter Expressway near Greta, in the Hunter region of NSW.
Kane Symons, Angus Craig, Rebecca Mullen, Darcy Bulman, Nadene and Kyah McBride, Andrew and Lynan Scott, Tori Cowburn and Zachary Bray were killed.
Kane Symons, Angus Craig, Rebecca Mullen, Darcy Bulman, Nadene and Kyah McBride, Andrew and Lynan Scott, Tori Cowburn and Zachary Bray were killed in the crash
Buttom received a further 43 charges on Thursday and now faces a total of 63 violations
His next appearance is scheduled for Newcastle local court on August 9.
A neighbor of Button’s told Daily Mail Australia that he has worked as a bus driver for about six years, having previously worked at a Mazda showroom in nearby Maitland.
Another neighbor, Sarat Babu Perala, described the 58-year-old as a “good guy who was always friendly.”
Mr Perala said Button regularly tinkered with his cars, mowed the land and did odd jobs around the house.
The accident at Greta is considered one of the worst multi-fatal road accidents in nearly 30 years.