Hunter Valley bus driver ‘savagely ripped apart’ family fatal crash: court

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Hunter Valley bus driver ‘savagely ripped apart’ family fatal ******: court

A driver behind the wheel of a wedding bus when it crashed ******** 10 people and injuring 25 more in the NSW Hunter Valley will hear from more victims as he faces a second day of sentence hearings.

Brett Button, 59, will appear before Newcastle District Court on Tuesday having earlier pleaded guilty to 19 charges, including dangerous driving occasioning ****** 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.

At least 35 people are expected to provide witness impact statements to the court during a marathon three-day sentence hearing which began on Monday morning before Justice Roy Ellis.

Camera IconBrett Button will face a second day of sentence hearings on Tuesday. NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw Credit: NCA NewsWire

Among those who gave evidence on Monday was Graham McBride, whose wife Nadene and daughter Kyah were ******* in the ******. He told Button without his “****** I don’t have a life anymore”.

“My family tree has been cut down. A father should never have to attend the ******** of their whole family … The most precious thing in my life was savagely ripped from me,” Mr McBride said.

Nick Dinakis was also on the bus when it crashed, ******** his partner Darcy Bulman. He told the court that since the horrific incident his life was “no longer for living but about survival”.

“You ******* her. You took away her chance to be a mother. You ******* my family, my future wife, my best friend,” Mr Dinakis said in reference to his partner, Ms Bulman, while fighting back tears.

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

Victims of Hunter Valley bus ******

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

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 ****** that 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, 29, and Angus Craig, 28, were ******* in the ******.

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 that resulted in the manslaughter charges being dropped to the anger of families. Button is in custody on remand before sentencing.

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