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