‘Unprecedented’: Judge’s call on killer bus driver case

A judge overseeing the sentencing of a driver behind wheel of a wedding bus when it crashed killing 10 people and injuring 25 more in NSW’s Hunter Valley has labelled the proceedings “unprecedented”.

Brett Button, 59, appeared before Newcastle District Court on Monday morning having earlier pleaded guilty to 19 charges, including dangerous driving occasioning death and grievous bodily harm.

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

In his opening address, Justice Roy Ellis said the sentencing proceedings were “pretty well unprecedented as never before have so many people been killed in a motor vehicle incident”.

Mr Ellis told the court emotions were likely to run high during the three-day sentencing proceedings, and that the reams of victim impact statements to be read aloud would be “unsettling”.

He added that the proceedings would “result in a lengthy sentence for Mr Button” which would neither please everyone nor “bring back loved ones or cure mental injuries as a result of this incident”.

“Justice is what this sentence is about: justice for the offender and for the victims of this crime and their families. But, justice is not about revenge. Justice is about accountability,” he said.

As many as 35 victim impact statements, including from survivors, are expected to be delivered during three-days of sentencing proceedings before Justice Roy Ellis beginning on Monday.

The seasoned judge is expected deliver Button’s sentence on Wednesday, with as many as 60 people expected to attend on behalf of victims and extra facilities set up for the large amount of media.

It comes more than a year after the horror crash which shook the Hunter Valley and Singleton communities.

Andrew Scott, 35, and 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, and Angus Craig, 28, were killed in the crash.

The incident quickly became one of the state’s – and Australia’s – worst ever fatal road incidents, with Button at one point facing a whopping 89 charges, including 10 counts of manslaughter.

Ultimately, prosecutors agreed to a plea deal which resulted in the manslaughter charges being dropped to the anger of families. Button is currently in custody on remand before sentencing.