Hunter Valley bus crash: Health minister’s tribute to victim
Two of the 10 victims of a horror wedding bus crash in the Hunter Valley have been confirmed dead, while dozens of guests remain hospitalised with injuries.
NSW
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NSW Health Minister Ryan Park on Tuesday confirmed the death of a female doctor who was on-board the wedding bus.
Rebecca Mullen was a junior doctor at Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital who Mr Park said had a “long and illustrious career” ahead of her.
“This has made a very dark day even darker for NSW Health,” Mr Park said.
“We’ve lost one of our own … on behalf of the NSW community and obviously the premier and myself express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and her loves ones.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the family of Kyah and Nadene McBride, who were on the Greta bus and unaccounted for, released a statement saying: “There are no words to describe the grief our family is feeling at this time”.
Earlier, a Hobart surf lifesaving club released a statement on behalf of Kane Symons’ family to say he had died during the crash.
“We are heartbroken to hear of the tragic passing of Kane Symons in the Hunter Valley bus tragedy,” Carlton Park SLSC president Christine Gaby said in a Facebook post.
Mr Park said while he was very proud of the swift emergency response, there would be investigations into whether improvements could be made.
“The coronial inquest will now take place and there’ll be investigations as to whether we can improve safety,” he said.
“The government will consider those recommendations.
“Without a doubt in an incident like this always, always there is a sense of what could be done better. I think the community would expect that of me.”
NSW Police Superintendent David Waddell confirmed on Tuesday morning that nine people died at the scene. The 10th later passed away in hospital.
“We had a total of 25 people taken to hospital with a range of injuries, 12 of those people have since been released and we still have 14 in hospital,” Superintendent Waddell said.
“Nine (are at) at John Hunter, two in ICU, one at the Mater, two at Maitland and two at RPA, both those at RPA have had surgeries.
“The injuries range from lacerations to breaks and fractures.”
Community crisis centres have been set up at Cessnock, Branxton and Singleton to cope with the sheer enormity of the event, which has left many shattered and the community as a whole grieving.
On Monday night, 10 people were identified as unaccounted for. Police sources said formal identification could take days, if not weeks.
FIRST PHOTOS: BUS CRASH DRIVER WALKS FREE
The driver of a bus that crashed killing 10 people in the Hunter Valley has walked free from custody carrying a Coles shopping bag.
Brett Andrew Button was granted bail at Cessnock Local Court on Tuesday morning.
The 58-year-old had a black hoodie on and was wearing glasses as he got into the passenger seat of a car being driven by his wife.
DRIVER’S ALLEGED BOAST BEFORE FATAL CRASH
A bus driver charged over a horror Hunter Valley crash that claimed the lives of 10 passengers on their way home from a wedding allegedly made a chilling boast to those on board just seconds before tragedy struck.
Brett Andrew Button, 58, allegedly told passengers “if you think that was fast … watch this” moments before he lost control of the coach he was driving at a roundabout on Wine Country Drive near the Hunter Expressway off ramp at Greta.
Multiple survivors have told police and close friends Button allegedly made the remarks over the vehicle’s internal microphone minutes after leaving the wedding of Madeleine Edsell and Mitchell Gaffney.
Other survivors have told close friends that the speed of the bus had prompted them to tell other passengers to get back into their seats as the bus approached the roundabout in thick fog.
Button fronted court on Tuesday, where he was granted bail.
HOW THE BUS TRAGEDY UNFOLDED
The scene that confronted paramedics, police and firefighters on Saturday night has been described as being like a scene out of a “war”.
Limbs and other body parts were found scattered around the crash scene, while blood bathed the grass on the roadside near where the bus came to a halt.
Horrifying audio from a first responder describes how the man can see seven “code fours” – a technical phrase for fatalities – and another passenger who is “red label” meaning they are in a critical condition.
The bus was travelling from Wandin Estate in Lovedale, 50 minutes west of Newcastle, to Singleton when the crash occurred.
On board were 35 guests from the wedding, most of them from Singleton and interstate.
Hours earlier they had been celebrating the union of Mr and Mrs Gaffney in a picture perfect affair.
On Monday afternoon, almost 16 hours after the catastrophic accident, specialist salvage operators lifted the overturned coach back onto its wheels
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