‘Risk-taking, drug-affected’ bus driver loses appeal
Adelaide Lang and Alex Mitchell |
Claims of double-counting and unfairness have been dismissed as the driver responsible for one of Australia’s deadliest bus crashes lost a sentence appeal.
Brett Andrew Button, 60, was handed a decades-long sentence for causing a crash in regional NSW that killed 10 mostly young wedding guests and injured another 25 in June 2023.
He was driving too fast and had taken significantly more than the prescribed dosage of the opioid painkiller Tramadol before his bus tipped while navigating a roundabout.
Button’s sentencing judge said in his half-century of involvement in the judicial system, he was unaware of any other case that had such a devastating impact on so many people.
The fatal crash in the NSW Hunter Valley forever changed the lives of families in three states, with victims hailing from Queensland and the married couple’s childhood home of Melbourne.
Seven victims were from nearby Singleton – many linked to the local Australian Rules football club, including coach Nadene McBride, her daughter Kyah and Kyah’s partner.
Button appealed the length of his 32-year sentence, with his lawyer arguing some of the 35 criminal charges to which he pleaded guilty had been double-counted.
The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed his appeal on Friday, leaving in place the full term and 24-year non-parole period.
“The sentencing judge properly took into account the harrowing victim impact statements and the purposes of sentencing,” the panel of appeal judges found.
“The offending did not occur by mere happenstance or chance. Mr Button engaged in undoubtedly risk-taking behaviour.”
The bus driver had argued he did not realise he was affected by the opioid because he had taken it for so long and never felt impacted by it.
He attacked a finding that he knew he was adversely affected by the painkiller, claiming his sentence overall was manifestly excessive and disproportionate for a single act.
That was challenged by the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions, Sally Dowling SC, who told the appeal judges Button should have known he was under the drug’s effect because he had been fired from a previous job when his employer learned he had become addicted.
Button knew he had consumed much more than the recommended maximum of Tramadol, which made him a potential danger on the roads, the appeal judges found.
“There is no doubt that he abandoned his responsibility to ensure the safety of his passengers and that he engaged in risk-taking behaviour,” they wrote in their unanimous ruling.
“The impact of this offending is incalculable and ongoing.”
The bus, which was carrying guests from a wine estate wedding, entered an elliptical roundabout on the way to Singleton before tipping over and hitting a guardrail.
“This next part’s going to be fun,” Button told passengers before accelerating into the roundabout and speeding around the turn before the crash.
Survivors described feeling like they were about to die as the bus fell sideways towards a roadside barrier.
“The sensation of falling sideways and being completely powerless was terrifying,” Jason Junkeer told Button’s sentencing hearing.
The first police officers on scene described the crash site as a “war zone”, with dead guests, passengers moaning in pain and others clearly trapped under the bus.
But the appeal verdict doesn’t signal the end to the crash saga.
Survivors, victims’ families and insurers are suing the transport department over alleged safety breaches at the roundabout.
A host of construction and engineering companies, bus company Linq and Button have all been dragged into the lawsuit.
AAP
