A truck that ploughed into a school bus west of Melbourne had faulty brakes and skidded for more than 25 metres before a crash that left several children seriously injured, a court has been told.
Tip truck driver Jamie Gleeson was charged with seven counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury after allegedly crashing into the back of the Exford Primary School bus in May 2023.
Jamie Gleeson outside the County Court on Wednesday afternoon.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
He has pleaded not guilty to each charge.
Seven children suffered serious injuries in the collision in Eynesbury, about 45 kilometres west of Melbourne, and each of the charges relates to a different victim.
On the first day of a trial at the Victorian County Court, a jury was told by prosecutor Neill Hutton, SC, the truck was travelling about 67 kilometres per hour when it collided with the bus but had the brakes been working properly, the speed would have been quickly reduced to between 48 and 51 kilometres per hour.
The court was told light flickered between nearby trees, limiting his vision in the moments before Gleeson crashed into the rear of the bus, and once the brakes locked, he was left unable to steer.
Gleeson had been unaware the truck’s brakes were malfunctioning, with the fault discovered only after the vehicle was analysed by investigators following the crash, the court heard.
Police allege the school bus was struck from behind at the intersection of Exford and Murphys roads shortly after school was let out for the day.
The bus, which was carrying 46 children from Exford Primary School, then overturned as it was turning right at the intersection.
Graham Stanley, who was driving the school bus, told the court he had seen two headlights in his rearview mirror in the moments before the crash.
He said he could not make out what kind of vehicle it was due to “shadows”, which were interfering with his vision.
Exford Primary School bus driver Graham Stanley.Credit: Alex Crowe
Stanley said he slowed the bus to a near stop at the intersection before the impact of the crash ricocheted through the vehicle and launched it forward in a rapid motion.
“It just felt extreme,” he said. “I remember the sensation ... the bus almost feeling like it’s reversing.
“I remember the shock and confusion. It took me a little bit to understand the geometry of which way things were and exactly where I was.”
During the hearing, members of the jury were shown images of the damage to the front of the truck and of the bus tipped on its side.
Gleeson’s barrister, James Anderson, told the court that when his client saw the brake light on the bus come on, he took his foot off the accelerator and began stomping on his truck’s brakes.
Anderson said that Gleeson later told police: “It was like the bus had forgotten to turn.”
Prosecutors allege that Gleeson was driving in a manner that was dangerous to the public in all circumstances.
“That’s the sole issue of the next five to seven days,” Hutton told the jurors.
But Anderson told the court Gleeson was not driving dangerously, nor was his conduct the cause of the crash.
Police from the major collision investigation unit examine a truck and Exford Primary School bus crash in May 2023.Credit: Jason South
He said there was no suggestion Gleeson was affected by drugs or alcohol, was fatigued, speeding, using his phone or hooning before the collision.
“This is tragedy ... but not all tragedies have a villain,” Anderson said.
“Vehicles are driven by humans, and sometimes the risks of the road are realised. You can’t reason backwards from a tragedy and determine that [the] tragedy can only be caused by someone driving dangerously.”
The trial continues.