Bruce Kenneth Slater: Doctors compelled to give evidence in horror bus crash case

Two doctors have been compelled to give evidence in a case against a bus driver charged over a fatal crash in the Goulburn Valley.

Two doctors will be compelled to give evidence after a bus driver was charged with serious driving offences over a fatal crash in the Goulburn Valley.

The driver of the minibus, Bruce Kenneth Slater, 75, and nine passengers were seriously injured after the vehicle left the road and rolled about 2.30pm on Murchison-Violet Rd in Arcadia South on May 20, 2021.

Three passengers were flown to Melbourne with life-threatening injuries while Echuca woman, Casey Spark, 40, died at the scene.

Casey Spark, 40, was killed in the crash.

It’s understood the 10 passengers, including several senior citizens, were on a silo art tour of the Shepparton region at the time.

Following a year-long investigation, police in May announced the driver of the minibus had been charged with dangerous driving causing death, negligently causing serious injury and reckless conduct endangering life, among other charges.

The Gunbower man appeared, using a walking frame, in the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where prosecutor Jessica Van Dyk successfully applied to summons two doctors for a “compulsory examination”.

Doctors are often called to give evidence in court where a magistrate can force them to provide details that would often be in breach of patient confidentiality.

Any information the doctor provides could help investigators in further preparing their case against Mr Slater.

The reason prosecutors want the two doctors to provide testimony was not aired in court.

The two will be brought in to give evidence before the court in a two-hour hearing on August 24.

Mr Slater was not required to enter pleas, and will return to court on September 27.