The driver of a bus has been charged after the vehicle carrying wedding guests rolled over on a foggy night in Australia’s wine country, killing 10 people and injuring 25 others.
The crash happened just after 11.30pm on Sunday (2.30pm BST) at a roundabout on Wine Country Drive in the town of Greta in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales state, north of Sydney.
Brett Button has been in custody since the accident on Sunday night and will appear in court on Tuesday on multiple charges of dangerous and negligent driving, a police statement said.
It was Australia’s deadliest road accident since 1994, when a bus skidded on its side across a major road and down a steep embankment in Brisbane, killing 12 people and injuring 38.
The guests had attended a wedding at the Wandin Estate Winery and were heading to their accommodations in the town of Singleton, police said.
A motorist who drove past the crash scene, identified by Australian Broadcasting Corp only as Alison, said the fog was so heavy at the time that she could not make out the colours of the flashing lights of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks.
“The fog was terrible,” she told the ABC. “You could barely see in front of you.”
Of the 25 people injured, one is in a critical condition and several others remain in hospital, the state government said. The conditions of the others were described as stable.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb said investigators have not yet determined what caused the bus to roll onto its side.
Whether passengers were wearing seatbelts will also “come under scrutiny”, Ms Webb said.
To the loved ones of those we've lost in such horrific circumstances:
Australia wraps its arms around you and all of our hopes and prayers are with you on this tragic day. pic.twitter.com/zRbLe2dgnj— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) June 12, 2023
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thanked first responders and offered government support to victims and their families, saying the “mental scars of this will not go away”.
“For a joyous day like that, in a beautiful place, to end with such terrible loss of life and injury is so cruel and so sad and so unfair,” Mr Albanese told reporters.
“People hire a bus for weddings in order to keep their guests safe. And that just adds to the unimaginable nature of this tragedy,” he said.
Jay Suvaal, the mayor of Cessnock, said the crash was “truly horrific”.
