Bus driver who killed teen Tia Cameron appeals conviction
The mother of teen bus crash victim Tia Cameron has expressed devastation after the driver appealed his conviction over her daughter's death.
The mother of Tia Cameron, the teen hit and killed by a bus in Brisbane’s CBD, says she is “devastated” to learn the driver of the bus has launched an appeal.
Lindsay Francis Selby was found guilty by a magistrate in October of a single count of driving without due care and attention causing the death of Ms Cameron, 18, in March last year.
Brisbane Magistrates Court heard throughout a hearing in September how Ms Cameron was pinned against the Anzac Square Arcade building in Brisbane’s CBD by a council bus driven by Selby after it mounted the footpath just after 5pm on March 8, 2024.
The prosecution alleged the experienced bus driver had not applied the brakes while driving around a corner on Edward St, and that he then swerved onto the footpath at the last second after being confronted with stopped traffic ahead of him.
Selby pleaded not guilty on the basis that he had believed he was pressing the brake after he drove around the corner from Ann St onto Edward St.
His defence barrister Saul Holt, KC, had submitted Selby made the “tragic decision” to swerve after realising that what he was doing wasn’t actually causing the bus to brake.
Magistrate Aaron Simpson delivered his reserved decision on October 30, labelling Selby as a driver who “made a very poor decision at the last moment to avoid the banked up traffic”.
Mr Simpson found Selby’s driving fell below the standard of care that one would expect of a reasonably prudent driver in similar circumstances.
He sentenced Selby to eight months jail, wholly suspended for 12 months.
Selby’s defence team from Gilshenan & Luton filed a notice of appeal against conviction in Brisbane’s District Court this week. He is not appealing his sentence which will stand, if the appeal against the verdict fails.
Upon hearing news of the appeal, Tia’s mother, Jade Te Awhitu, said she was “stunned, in disbelief and angry”.
“I have respected every part of the legal process, even when I felt disappointed,” she said.
“When the sentence was finalised, I believe justice – imperfect as it is – had been served. The sentence was already minimal, but I accepted it.
“To have even that small measure of accountability questioned again is devastating. An appeal may be a legal right, but it comes at an enormous emotional cost to a grieving family.
“My hope is simply that Tia’s life, and her loss, remain at the centre of the process – not attempts to avoid responsibility.
Originally published as Bus driver who killed teen Tia Cameron appeals conviction
