Montague st bridge bus crash victims beg for driver’s freedom

The victims of the horror Montague St bus crash have every reason to want justice. But the last thing they want is driver Jack Aston behind bars — and now they’re fighting to see him walk free.

Victims of the Montague Street bridge bus crash that saw the driver jailed for more than five years have criticised the harshness of the sentence, calling it “frustrating and disappointing”.

Ballarat bus driver Jack Aston was given a non-parole period of two years and six months in December last year for the 2016 collision with the notorious South Melbourne bridge.

But passengers Kathy Apostolidis and Harry Whelan told the Herald Sun they believe the punishment was extreme and they had never wanted Aston jailed.

And both have offered to help with his appeal.

“This is not the result I wanted,” Mr Whelan said. “I just can’t get my head around it.”

“What does it achieve, putting him in prison?” asked Ms Apostolidis.

Both victims suffered serious and permanent injuries from the crash, as well as ongoing financial and psychological difficulties.

Four other passengers were also injured.

In December last year, Country Court Judge Bill Stuart sentenced Aston after a jury found him guilty on six counts of negligently causing serious injury.

The crash occurred in February 2016. Picture: Hamish Blair

Six people were injured in the crash. Picture: Hamish Blair

The low bridge is a notorious for causing crashes. Picture: Hamish Blair

Aston — who had no criminal history and was not impaired by drugs or alcohol — was driving a Gold Bus Ballarat vehicle along Montague Street on the morning of February 22, 2016 when his 11-tonne bus collided with the low bridge.

Judge Stuart said Aston had ignored warning signs and was “grossly inattentive to your obligations”, but also admitted the bridge was “inherently dangerous”.

Jack Aston’s wife Wendy — who visits him every weekend at the Loddon-Middleton Prison in Castlemaine — told the Herald Sun she was grateful to know the victims’ feelings.

“They have every right to be angry, but I’m so relieved to know that they also think Jack was treated badly by the court,” she said.

“It sounds like we’re all just normal people struggling with this. We’re all just trying to get through it — us and the passengers”

The low Montague Street bridge is an infamous hazard and was hit 17 other times in 2016.

A staggering 26 warning gantries were installed by VicRoads after the crash, but the bridge continues to hit regularly.

Ballarat bus driver Jack Aston (right) was jailed for five years for the crash. Picture: Hamish Blair

This month there have been six bridge strikes alone, including one over-height vehicle trapped in the Burnley Tunnel.

Last year, the rail bridge on Racecourse Rd, near Boundary Rd in Flemington, was hit eight times, according to Yarra Trams.

Just last week, two trucks struck different bridges.

A truck was left on two wheels in South Melbourne on Tuesday morning, wedged under the Ferrars St light rail bridge.

And in a separate incident on the same day, a truck hit the Napier St underpass.

The sentencing of Jack Aston has become a prominent case and is used as an example against recent lenient sentences, including the low jail time giving to wife killer Borce Ristevski.

Ristevski lied to Victoria Police for years before finally pleading guilty to her manslaughter last month.

Karen Ristevski was killed and her body dumped in bushland in the same year as the Montague Street bus crash, yet her killer could be free by 2023 — just two years after Aston’s release in 2021.

“Where are the calculations for these sentences?” asked Ms Apostolidis.

“One person gets a really light sentence for killing someone and another gets a heavy sentence for injuring people. It was an accident.”

“He’s a human being who made a mistake,” said Mr Whelan. “It’s frustrating and disappointing.”

Both victims say the brutality of Jack Aston’s punishment is preventing them from getting on with their lives.

Victims Kathy Apostolidis and Harry Whelan, say they are opposed to the five-year prison sentence. Picture: David Swift

“Until justice is done, there won’t be closure for us,” said Harry.

“This is not the result I wanted.

“I thought I would feel closure when the sentence came down, but on the contrary, I thought about him and his family all day on Christmas Day. I thought, my God these poor people.”

And they continue to question the community benefit in locking up Aston.

“If we’re supposed to believe in rehabilitation as a society, how does jail help him become a better person?,” Mr Whela said.

None of the six injured passenger submitted a Victim Impact Statement to the court before sentencing, even though they were requested to by the Office of Public Prosecution.

“I didn’t want to add more misery to the situation,” , Ms Apostolidis said.

Aston’s wife Wendy said she welcomed their help with the coming appeal.

“It means the world knowing they want to help. And I know it’s going to make a big difference to Jack,” she said.

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Meg Aston, Aston’s daughter, said: “It’s still very hard for all of us. Some days it’s hard to believe because we are just normal people and its just the reality of our lives for now.

“(He’s) always talking on the phone about seeing us next. It’s very hard when visiting time is up and we have to leave.”

She added: “Hearing from the passengers on the bus and that they think the sentence he got was extreme just really shows how extreme it was.

“I often think about the passengers on the bus, I know dad does also, and that they are well.

“I just hope when dads comes home we can all move on in life and I just hope his home soon.”

No sitting date has been scheduled at the Court of Appeal and the Office of Public Prosecutions has yet to file their response.

Justin Smith is a 3AW presenter and Herald Sun columnist

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