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Hunter Valley bus tragedy: What we know so far
By Georgina Mitchell
If you’re just joining us, this is what we know about the Hunter Valley bus tragedy.
- Ten people are dead and 26 have been taken to hospital after a bus crashed at Greta, near Cessnock, on Sunday night;
- The coach was travelling on Wine Country Drive near the off-ramp to the Hunter Expressway at about 11.30pm when it overturned, in what police believe to be a single-vehicle crash;
- Many of those injured were taken to John Hunter Hospital, while some were taken to Maitland Hospital, Calvary Mater in Newcastle, and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney;
- The 58-year-old bus driver has been arrested by police and taken to Cessnock police station, where he is expected to be charged;
- A police source, who was not authorised to speak publicly, said the driver was not intoxicated. Officers believe he was driving erratically;
- The passengers were going to Singleton after a wedding at nearby Wandin Valley Estate. The venue operators have expressed their condolences to the victims;
- The coach, a Volvo with 57 seats, was operated by Linq Buslines. The business has more than 30 years’ experience and its coaches are equipped with seatbelts;
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has offered support to the victims and their families. Premier Chris Minns has attended the scene;
- Police said first responders were greeted with a “confronting and very traumatic scene” and there is a possibility the death toll will increase;
- Forensic police and crash investigators remained at the scene on Monday afternoon, where an operation continued to recover the victims and move the coach upright.
Wedding bus crash driver identified
By Perry Duffin
The driver of the bus involved in the deadly Hunter Valley wedding crash that killed 10 people and injured dozens more has been identified as local Brett Button.
NSW Police said the driver, 58, was being held in Cessnock Police Station awaiting charges over the deaths and injuries caused when the coach flipped onto its side near Greta, in the Hunter Valley.
Police sources, unable to speak publicly, have confirmed Button’s identity this afternoon.
Button is expected to be charged with serious driving offences before facing Cessnock Local Court on Tuesday.
Police begin ‘arduous’ and ‘complex’ task of identifying crash victims
By Georgina Mitchell and Anthony Segaert
As night begins to fall on the site of the Hunter Valley bus crash, police have begun the “arduous” and “complex” task of matching people who were in the bus to the property they left behind.
On Monday afternoon, a winch was used to pull the bus upright about 15 hours after it tipped over while approaching the Hunter Expressway at 11.30pm on Sunday. It had been laden with 35 wedding attendees, who were on their way back to Singleton, and the driver.
The bus was pulled upright on Monday afternoon.Credit: Nine news
All of the survivors were taken to hospital after the crash, with some since released and the driver taken to a police station to be charged.
At a press conference on Monday afternoon, NSW Police commissioner Karen Webb said the deceased victims had remained at the crash site for most of the day and police would now begin the lengthy process of identifying the ten who died.
She said family liaison officers were available at Cessnock to talk victims’ loved ones through what would be done.
“It’s been complex, and I think it’s only just now that the bus has been righted from its side,” Webb said. “It’s a delicate operation, and I’m sure you can appreciate the need for that given that people were inside that bus.”
Asked about the rules regarding wearing seatbelts on buses, Webb said, “that will be for the Coroner to determine”.
“Whether they were actually wearing seatbelts or not, or whether it was fitted with seatbelts, certainly all of that will come under scrutiny,” she said.
Webb was asked if it was the driver’s responsibility to enforce seatbelts. She responded: “The Coroner will have to look at that, and ultimately the driver will have to think about that for the rest of his life.”
Emergency services smashed bus windscreen to access victims
By Anthony Segaert
Emergency services smashed the windscreen of the crashed bus in a desperate bid to reach people trapped inside after they arrived on scene last night, police said a short time ago.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Tracy Chapman said the first agencies on scene were traffic and highway police, Fire and Rescue NSW and NSW Ambulance.
The bus windscreen was smashed during the emergency response.Credit: Nine News
“It was a fairly frantic scene, a number of passengers we were able to extract from the front windscreen of the bus,” Chapman said.
She said police are still identifying the 10 people who died in the incident.
Chapman said the process of disaster victim identification “has to be followed so that we can make sure that we’re talking to the right family members, that family members are getting correct information, and that at the end of the day, a coronial inquest can positively confirm who it was that is deceased”.
Driver currently in the process of being charged: Police commissioner
By Georgina Mitchell and Anthony Segaert
NSW Police commissioner Karen Webb says the 58-year-old man who was driving the bus is currently in the process of being charged.
She was not able to say what charges were being laid against him.
Karen Webb (left, pictured with Police Minister Yasmin Catley) speaks near the crash site on Monday.Credit: Nick Moir
Webb said the crash site was a complex scene, with 10 people confirmed deceased and 26 people injured, including the bus driver.
Asked whether it was the driver’s responsibility to tell passengers to wear seatbelts, the commissioner said: “The coroner will have to look at that and, ultimately, the driver will have to think about that for the rest of his life.“
NSW Ambulance earlier confirmed 26 people had been taken to hospital - 12 to John Hunter Hospital, two to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, seven to Maitland, and five to Calvary Mater in Newcastle.
Webb said the bus has recently been pulled upright, which was a delicate operation because people remained inside.
A total of 36 people were on the bus: the driver, the 10 people who died, and the 25 passengers who were taken to hospital, not all of whom remain there.
The area around the bus is still an active crime scene, she said. “We’ve got forensics officers processing the crime scene, we’ve got crash investigation unit officers, we’ve got rescue officers [on scene].”
NSW Police Commissioner gives crash update
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb is giving an update near the crash scene.
Watch here:
Sporting groups ‘shocked and saddened’ by bus tragedy
By Ashleigh McMillan
Sporting teams have expressed shock and sadness after wedding guests believed to have links to netball, football and cricket clubs were involved in the fatal Hunter Valley bus crash.
Guests were on their way back to Singleton after the wedding of Maddy Edsell and Mitchell Gaffney on Sunday night when the coach they were on tipped onto its side near the Hunter Expressway at Greta, killing 10 people and leaving others injured.
Police investigate at the scene of the fatal bus crash on Monday afternoon.Credit: Nick Moir
The bride and groom are members of the Singleton Roosters Australian rules club, and had previously played cricket and netball at Warrandyte in Melbourne’s north-east.
Jimmy Harris, president of Warrandyte Netball Club, said Edsell had started playing the sport as a young girl and finished playing for the team in around 2016.
He said at this stage, he was unsure whether any netball players from the club were in the crash.
“It comes as a bit of a shock when you read on the news that something’s happened, and then it turns out just how close to home it actually is,” Harris said.
“Our thoughts and our hearts go out to the families of the people involved in the tragedy ... it’s such a sad, sad thing to have happened, particularly on such a special day.”
In a statement, AFL NSW/ACT said it was “shocked and saddened by the bus tragedy in the Hunter Valley”.
“We send our deepest condolences to all those affected in the accident, including those in the Singleton Roosters family and our Hunter Central Coast community.
“The AFL will offer wellbeing support services for any person in our Australian football community who needs them following this tragedy.”
‘Really sad’: Locals leave flowers near crash site
By Laura Chung and Nick Moir
Two women have added bunches of flowers to the slowly growing collection a few kilometres from the site of the bus crash.
Odessa Sarnelli and Georgie Bainbridge said they didn’t know those involved, but had wanted to show their love for their community.
Odessa Sarnelli (right) and Georgie Bainbridge leave flowers near the scene of the crash.Credit: Nick Moir
Bainbridge said she was on her way home when she heard the sirens, but it wasn’t until this morning when she woke up that she realised what had happened.
“It was really sad what happened. Especially on what was an amazing day for an amazing couple. It was really sad,” she said.
Sarnelli said she wanted to be there for the people in her community.
“[We] send love to everyone who was involved. I hope the bride and groom are okay, and that everyone in hospital makes it out safely.
“A lot of us will sit and commemorate people.”
First responders lifted bus to free trapped victims
By Olivia Ireland
First responders at the scene of the fatal Hunter Valley bus crash managed to partially lift the bus, which tipped onto its side, to free victims who were trapped underneath.
One of the first vehicles to arrive was a Fire and Rescue NSW truck, just after an off-duty paramedic, an emergency services source said.
A salvage operation at the crash site in the Hunter Valley on Monday.Credit: Nine News
The truck was part of a community first responder program, where firefighters are trained in first aid so they can provide care before paramedics arrive.
“They actually used their tools to lift the bus up off a person,” the source said. “They used airbags to lift it and they put timber blocks underneath to lift the bus.”
It is not known if the person who was pulled from under the bus is among those in hospital or if they died from their injuries.
Police and other emergency services remained at the crash site on Monday afternoon as an investigation continued.
Welfare and support will be provided to emergency personnel who responded to the scene and witnessed the traumatic circumstances.
Bus company offers ‘deepest condolences’ after crash
The bus company involved in the crash, Linq Buslines, has said in a statement it is “incredibly saddened to learn of the bus crash that has occurred overnight”.
“Our hearts are with everyone involved in this terrible tragedy and we send our deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones,” the statement said.
The scene at the crash site on Monday afternoon.Credit: Nine News
“We would like to thank the first responders to the scene, the emergency personnel and those who are continuing to assist.
“Trauma counselling services have been made available to all staff and their families at Linq Buslines.
“We are working with NSW Police and authorities as they investigate. It would be inappropriate for us to comment further while the investigation is underway.”
Nine injured in crash are members of a Victorian cricket club
By Ashleigh McMillan
Nine people injured in the devastating Hunter Valley bus crash were members of a Victorian cricket club, whose former president says they were “extremely lucky” to escape with their lives.
Royce Jaksic, former president of Warrandyte Cricket Club, said the cricketers and their partners had mostly received “some minor injuries - a broken jaw, a broken collarbone, things like that”.
“But you know, compared to the 10 people that have tragically lost their lives, I think we’ve been blessed in this one,” he said.
The scene of the bus crash on Monday, next to the Hunter Expressway.Credit: Nine News
“If you do the math, they’ve been extremely lucky. We’ve just got fingers and toes crossed that no-one else loses their lives.”
Newlywed Mitchell Gaffney played for the cricket club in Melbourne’s leafy north-eastern suburbs while living in Victoria, before moving to the Hunter Valley six years ago. His wife Maddy Edsell played netball for Warrandyte.
“They’ve been stalwarts of the community,” Jaksic said.
“Talking to the guys that are up there now, [Gaffney] is a bit of a larrikin and was a much-loved part of the cricket club during his time.”
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2023-06-12 06:26:31Z
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