Wedding bus crash ‘shattered’ the lives of hundreds in 15 minutes
Within 15 minutes of boarding a bus at the end of a fairytale wedding, multiple people were dead and the lives of hundreds were “shattered”.
When Graham McBride boarded a charter bus with his wife, daughter, and 32 others, they left behind a joyous wedding, celebrating a new chapter for their dear friends.
Within 15 minutes, Mr McBride and the lives of “hundreds of people” across the country would be irrevocably changed in a heartbreaking and “preventable” tragedy.
The 55-year-old was one of at least 40 survivors and family of victims who gave evidence during a sentence hearing into the Hunter Valley bus crash this week.
For two days, the court heard “graphically painted pictures of devastation” wrought by driver Brett Button who killed 10 people in the fatal crash at Greta.
A further 25 people were injured when Button overturned the bus at a roundabout while driving too fast and under the influence of opioid painkillers.
Among them was Mr McBride, who fractured his neck, left arm, and multiple left side ribs. He was taken by helicopter to John Hunter Hospital.
When Mr McBride woke up five days later he learned the tragic news: his wife Nadene and daughter Kyah had been killed.
“My girls were my life. Without my girls, I do not have a life anymore,” Mr McBride told the court while holding back tears.
“The most precious things in my life have been savagely stripped from me in a crash that was completely avoidable.”
Mr McBride recalled tender moments with his wife, a well-known local fixture of the Singleton AFL community.
He described his daughter Kyah, also a well-known and respected AFLW player, as his “pride and joy”.
“I always told Nadene I wanted seven boys. I got more than that in one Kyah,” Mr McBride said.
After the crash, Mr McBride said his “family tree had been cut down” and described his now lonely home in Singleton as having a “hallway of death”.
Like many, he spoke of the ever-present shadow of the “black dog”, with survivors and their families recounting attempts at suicide or of having suicidal ideation.
Ms McBride’s sister, Leoni Bowey, described her sister as a “second mum” but now “lived with nightly nightmares the last time I saw our beautiful girls at the morgue”.
“My body shakes with anxiety daily. I live with constant fear of buses on the road when driving. I cannot take public transport,” Ms Bowey told the court Monday.
“Because of this crash my life will never be the same. I will have to live with knowing my family was shattered by decisions and behaviours of this bus driver.”
Day after day, the Newcastle District Court was packed with family members of the ten people killed who told stories of profound loss and deep sadness.
While the crash was noted in court as being “unprecedented” and in the media as one of the country’s worst, victims tried to remember loved ones for who they were.
Jacqui Varasadi, mother of victim Zach Bray, 29, remembered her son as a “perfect child”, who battled bowel cancer to become an outspoken medical advocate.
“He chose not to keep his struggle private, becoming a voice of awareness for a disease often ignored by younger people,” Ms Varasadi told the court.
“It’s heartbreaking to think he can no longer continue this lifesaving mission. Zachary had so much more to give, but this has been ripped away”.
Tori Cowburn, 29, was remembered by her mother, Kay Welsh, as someone who “had the brightest smile” and lit up every room she was in.
Her sister, Diane Cowburn, went on to add that “the emotional toll on our family has been immense. Our family will never be complete.”
Angus Craig, 28, was remembered by mum Tobi as “well loved” and cautious, while the family of Kane Symons, 21, recalled his battle after a childhood injury.
“Kane was a vibrant, ambitious young man who had been given a rare second chance at life after a severe injury at age 11,” the family said.
“He lived with an acute awareness of how precious life is … His story is one of resilience, determination, and boundless potential.”
The family remembered Mr Symons for his passion for surf lifesaving and enthusiasm for his work as an electrician.
The family of Andrew Scott, 35, who was killed alongside wife Lynan Scott, 33, said his family could not comprehend the loss.
Matthew Mullen, father of Rebecca Mullen, 26, described his daughter as “gifted, but shy. Compassionate, if not too compassionate”.
Like Mr McBride, local Nick Dinakis was also on the bus when it crashed. Also like Graham, Mr Dinakis lost a loved one, his life partner, Darcy Bulman.
“You killed her. You took away her chance to be a mother. You killed my family, my future wife, my best friend,” Mr Dinakis said in a fiery speech.
Mr Dinakis was placed in the ICU after the crash with a broken neck, a brain injury, and “glass and debris throughout my face like shrapnel”.
He said his “life is no longer for living but more about survival”, facing financial strains as his business suffered, and new social anxieties.
The survivors of the crash gave evidence about the immediate aftermath of the incident and the lifelong injuries they too now had to deal with.
Drew El-Moussalli described flashbacks of “dead bodies crushed” and, demanding Button look at him in court, described the bus as a “bus of hell”
“I feel on edge, I can’t concentrate, I get easily startled, and I view the world as a dangerous place. I can’t go anywhere,” Mr El-Moussalli said.
“My future has been destroyed because of your actions. I can no longer be the person I was. My enjoyment of life and my job, all gone.”
Survivor Jennifer Warren said she woke to her son pleading with her to stay awake and her head and body facing the wrong way.
Ms Warren suffered a broken neck, fractured spine, broken ribs, a fractured knee, and severe nerve damaged in the crash.
She told the court she now lived with a permanent head tilt and had difficulty closing her mouth when eating.
“It has been over a year since that fateful day,” Ms Warren said.
“The excruciating pain I felt throughout my body was just the beginning of a life filled with numerous tests, scans, medicines, and appointments.
“Despite undergoing numerous medical treatments, I wake up every morning with pain.
“I’ve been told that I’ll suffer from chronic pain for the rest of my life.”
Pill popping bus driver ‘knew better’ than doctors
Brett Button was behind the wheel when the wedding bus crashed on June 11, 2023 on its 15 minute journey from the Wandin Valley Estate.
Over the first two days of hearings, the 59-year-old was a presence often mentioned but never seen for the media who were not allowed into the courtroom.
On the third and final day of the sentence hearing, Button took the stand where he admitted he was “ashamed” and believed he had “committed the ultimate sin”.
“I can’t forgive myself. I can’t believe I caused this,” he said.
“I never meant to hurt anyone in my entire life, and now I have committed the ultimate sin.
“I have caused parents to have to bury their children … I have done it to so many families.
“I hate myself and I want to disappear.”
Button, who sobbed and violently gripped his seat on the stand, was grilled about his use on the day of the crash of the prescription opioid tramadol.
The court was told Button had used the drug since the 1990s, but was stood down by a former employer after a pain specialist determined he was addicted.
Nonetheless, Button began employment with Linq Buslines, his employer at the time of crash, who he did not inform of his use of tramadol.
Despite his doctors setting a limit on the amount of tramadol he could safely use to drive a bus, Button on the day took “significantly more” than that amount.
The court was told Button took a 50mg dosage in the morning and a 150mg slow-release dose in the afternoon; contrary to his prescription, he took another that evening.
Pressed by Crown prosecutor Katharine Jeffreys, Button admitted he believed he “knew better” than the doctors who advised him on his use of tramadol.
Button repeatedly rebuffed questions about his possible addiction to the painkiller, stating he had only ever used it for the purposes of pain relief.
While Justice Roy Ellis could not determine how much of an affect the drug had on his driving ability, its use was nonetheless central to his moral culpability.
In sentencing, Judge Ellis said Button had “abandoned his responsibility” to his 35 passengers and had driven recklessly.
He sentenced Button to 32 years behind bars with a non-parole period of 24 years beginning May 8.
Button will be eligible for release on parole on May 7, 2048.
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