Driver Fua Moananu bailed after horror Carwarp bus rollover: Court

The Samoan driver of a bus that rolled near Mildura, killing two people and injuring five more, will have to give up his passport to be released from police custody.

The Samoan driver of a bus that rolled near Mildura, killing two people and injuring five more, will have to give up his passport to be released from police custody.

Fua Moananu, a 25-year-old Samoan national, faced the Mildura Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon over allegations his driving caused Tuesday’s fatal crash.

The court heard Mr Moananu sustained a lacerated head in the crash and was discharged into police custody on June 26.

He was charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death and five counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury on Thursday and was given bail under strict conditions to surrender his passport and not drive.

Mr Moananu — who has a Samoan driving licence — was bailed to a Mildura address and will have to report to Mildura police station twice a week.

He’ll also have a curfew between 10pm and 5am.

The Samoan national — who only arrived in Australia on a temporary work visa in March — required an interpreter in court.

When asked by Magistrate Patrick Southey whether he understood his bail conditions, Mr Moananu nodded.

He will not be released on bail from police custody until he has surrendered his passport.

The 12-seater Toyota Hiace minibus, which was taking international workers to farms in the Carwarp region, was travelling south along the Calder Hwy on Tuesday morning.

Samoan farmer worker Siu Manu died in a horror bus crash in Carwarp on Tuesday. Picture: Supplied

Samoan farm worker Siu Manu was one of two people killed in the horror crash.

Mr Manu’s loved ones described his death as “difficult and painful”.

Two men, a 39-year-old and a 37-year-old, remain in hospital in critical conditions, while two others in their 20s are in serious conditions.

The prosecutor told the court one of the men who was fighting for life had a “low chance of survival”.

Two people died and nine others were injured after a bus crashed into a tree in Victoria’s northwest. Picture: Stuart Kavanagh.

A further 40-year-old man also remains in hospital but in a stable condition.

The other passengers — a 28-year-old man, a 23-year-old man and a 21-year-old man — went to hospital for observation but have since been released.

All on board the bus were Samoan nationals.