Killer wedding bus driver learns fate

There were tears and gasps in shock as the man responsible for driving a bus which crashed, killing 10 people and injuring 25 more in NSW’S Hunter Valley, learnt his fate after a marathon three-day hearing.

Brett Button, 59, was sentenced before Judge Roy Ellis at Newcastle District Court on Wednesday afternoon to 32 years behind bars with a non-parole period of 24 years beginning May 8.

He will be eligible for release on parole on May 7, 2048.

Family members in the courtroom broke down in tears, while gasps were heard when he learnt his fate.

Button was driving guests from a wedding reception at the Wandin Valley Estate, two hours north of Sydney, back to Singleton on June 11, 2023 when the bus flipped at a roundabout at Greta.

In sentencing, Judge Ellis said Button was under the influence of the opioid-based painkiller tramadol and had “abandoned his responsibility” to his 35 passengers at the time of the crash.

“Words cannot adequately express the pain, anger, and sadness that permeated the first two days of these proceedings as victim impact statement after victim impact statement was read by and for absolutely distraught, depressed, and devastated family members” of the deceased and survivors, Judge Ellis said.

Judge Ellis said that in his 50 years in the justice system he had never “dealt with, seen, or even read about a case that involved anywhere near the same extent of extraordinary devastation”.

“Surviving passengers described the trauma of their injuries and scenes of the crash, with unwanted memory of the carnage still present and easily triggered,” Judge Ellis told the court.

The bus crash victims had been attending the wedding of Mitchell Gaffney and Madeleine Edsell, who have advocated for increased safety on buses since the tragic incident.

The court was told Button had been driving under the influence of the opioid tramadol, was engaging in risk-taking behaviour, and was driving too fast to be able to negotiate the roundabout.

The Hunter Valley local took to the stand earlier, telling the survivors and families of his victims that he was “ashamed” of what he had done and had “committed the ultimate sin”.

“I can’t forgive myself. I can’t believe I caused this,” he said.

“I never meant to hurt anyone in my entire life, and now I have committed the ultimate sin.

“I have caused parents to have to bury their children … I have done it to so many families.

“I hate myself and I want to disappear.”

Breaking down during his hours-long examination, Button admitted to driving too fast to safely navigate the roundabout but denied prescription opioids “impaired” his driving.

The court was told Button had taken “significantly more” than his prescribed dosage of tramadol, a short-relief and opioid-abused painkiller, on the day of the horrific crash.

Pressed on whether he believed he “knew better” than doctors who’d tried to limit his use while working as a bus driver, Button admitted after repeated questioning that he thought he did.

In his closing address, barrister Paul Rosser KC told Judge Ellis that he would be sentencing Button on his actions when entering the roundabout, not over the course of the entire journey.

Crown prosecutor Katharine Jeffreys argued that the risk posed by Button was only “realised” at that moment, with the court told a passenger had described the drive as a “like a rollercoaster”.

The court was told Button had been taking tramadol since the 1990s and had been stood down in 2022 by a previous employer after a pain specialist ruled he was addicted to the painkiller.

Button earlier this year pleaded guilty to 19 charges, including 10 counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and nine counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.

At least 40 survivors and the families of victims gave evidence in court about the impact of the crash on their lives and the loss of loved ones during two emotional days.

Among them was Graham McBride whose wife Nadene and daughter Kyah were killed in the crash. He told Button that his “family tree has been cut down” and he didn’t “have a life anymore”.

Survivors of the crash described the devastating impact of the crash and the chronic injuries they’d been left with, with one woman saying she now suffered from a permanent “head tilt”.

The sentencing comes more than 15 months after the horror crash, one of NSW’s – and Australia’s – worst that left the communities of Singleton and the wider Hunter Valley devastated.

Andrew Scott, 35, his wife Lynan Scott, 33, Nadene McBride, 52, daughter Kyah McBride, 22, and her partner, Kane Symons, 21, Darcy Bulman, 30, Rebecca Mullen, 26, Zachary Bray, 29, Tori Cowburn, 29, and Angus Craig, 28, were killed in the crash.

Button at one point faced a whopping 89 charges, including 10 counts of manslaughter. Those charges were ultimately dropped following a plea deal with police to the anger of families.