The driver responsible for one of Australia’s deadliest road incidents – a wedding bus crash which killed 10 people – has been jailed for 32 years.
Twenty-five people were also injured when the coach overturned on 11 June 2023, while coming back from the celebration in the Hunter Valley wine region in New South Wales.
Brett Button, 59, was in the grips of a prescription opioid dependency and driving too fast at the time of the crash.
Initially charged with manslaughter, he instead pleaded guilty to a string of dangerous driving offences after taking a prosecution deal.
Surviving passengers and loved ones of those who died travelled from around the country to see Button sentenced, sobbing and hugging each other as the judge ruled he could not be released on parole until May of 2048.
Button had taken a large amount of Tramadol – a powerful drug which can cause drowsiness, brain fog and poor vision – to manage his chronic pain on the day of the crash but said that he did not realise he was impaired.
However passengers told the court they were terrified by his erratic driving, and some had urged him to slow down.
Shortly after, he lost control of the bus on a roundabout, causing it to tip on its side and slide along a guard rail.
It was carrying 35 passengers and everyone on board, except Button, was injured or killed.
Two whole days were devoted to listening to statements from more than 30 of those impacted in a hearing the judge called unprecedented in scale.
Credit: bbc.com
