Driver in deadly Hunter Valley wedding bus crash hit with more charges

Posted by
Check your BMI

A driver allegedly behind the wheel of a wedding bus when it crashed, killing 10 guests and injuring more than two dozen others, has had his charges upgraded.

Brett Andrew Button was driving a large white bus carrying 36 guests who had attended a wedding in the NSW Hunter Valley region on June 11 last year.

As the bus entered a roundabout, to turn west onto the Hunter Expressway towards Singleton, Button allegedly lost control of the bus before it rolled onto its left side and hit a guardrail.

READ MORE: Socceroo found dead after bushland disappearance

Brett Andrew Button, 58, the bus driver from the Hunter Valley crash where 10 people died, leaves Cessnock Police Station

toonsbymoonlight

Last year, he was initially charged with 10 counts of dangerous driving occasioning death – driving in a dangerous manner and negligent driving occasioning death.

Today he was hit with 26 new offences, including 10 charges of manslaughter for each of the victims who died in the accident.

He's also facing 16 counts of furious driving causing bodily harm, which relate to the manner in which Button was allegedly driving in the moments leading to the crash.

READ MORE: Noa Argamani, Israeli taken on motorcycle, appears in hostage video

More than four months on and the pain is still raw for so many affected by the Hunter Valley bus crash which claimed 10 lives and injured many more. The state government hosted a public memorial service at Singleton Showground today for the community touched by the tragedy.

The bus driver is now facing a total of 89 charges.

Button is currently on bail and living with family.

His next court appearance is on Wednesday, where he will face the fresh charges for the first time.

The wedding of Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell had been held at the nearby Wandin Estate winery in Lovedale, and the bus was taking guests towards Singleton.

Button is accused of driving dangerously fast in thick fog and telling passengers to "fasten your seatbelts" moments before losing control at a roundabout.