Disturbing boast Hunter Valley bus driver made to wedding guests before crashing and killing 10 on board
- Bus driver was acting strangely in hours before deadly crash
- READ MORE: Devastating blow dealt to victims of Hunter Valley bus crash
The driver responsible for the deadly NSW Hunter Valley crash was acting strangely in the hours before his bus overturned, killing 10 and leaving 25 injured.
Brett Button, 59, boasted he could do 'donuts' just moments before the coach toppled over on a roundabout near the township of Greta on June 11, 2023.
He had jiggled with the coach doors before leaving them open as he drove the guests from a wedding at Wandin Valley Estate to nearby Singleton.
Button told his passengers 'this is going to be fun', according to an agreed statement of facts that were formally tendered in court on Thursday.
The document, signed by Button and his lawyers, also detailed how he told guests his blood alcohol level had declined after he blew 0.4 a few days prior.
Brett Button, 59, boasted to guests about his diminished blood alcohol level and how he could do 'donuts' in a signed agreement of facts due to be tendered in court on Thursday
The deadly crash on June 11, 2023 killed 10 people (pictured) and injured 25 more
Experts say Button was driving 56.48km/h as he accelerated through the roundabout 'falling at the higher end of normal driving and towards aggressive' despite the tipping threshold of the bus being 31km/h.
Collision reconstruction expert Gavin Lennon said the braking and acceleration rates he applied were 'excessive, unnecessary and aggressive' when taking into account the location being a roundabout instead of a straight road.
According to the statement of facts, Button put music on and 'fostered a party atmosphere' with several guests putting their seatbelts on due to his driving.
He said 'if you like this corner, your going to like this one' and brushed concerns he was going too fast, telling anxious passengers 'oh it's nothing'.
Button became irritated when a car overtook the bus as it passed an Ampol petrol station, saying something like 'f***, f*** this'.
The document also stated Button was under the influence of an excessive quantity of Tramadol, an opiate pain killer, at the time of the crash.
Almost three hours after the crash, Button had 0.62mg/L of tramadol in his system.
Documents state he told officers he had taken 250mg of Tramadol on the day of the crash, however a clinical forensic pharmacologist said the blood concentration recorded strongly suggested he had taken 400mg, almost double that amount.
The bus rolled onto its side after Button lost control while carrying wedding guests
Passengers said the overturned bus resembled a war zone with 'body parts all around'
The facts stated there was no evidence Button told Linq Buses, the company he drove for, he was using Tramadol despite compulsory self-reporting laws.
Button also agreed the drug can cause respiratory depression, euphoria, drowsiness, mental clouding, unsteadiness, impairments to visual memory and functions, comprehension, attention, problem solving and decision making.
The document also details how the bus quickly became a 'war zone' after it overturned and crashed into an Armco railing.
'A number of them called out as they tried to locate their loved ones amidst the chaos, and helped others with injuries to get free of the bus,' it said.
'They describe seeing 'dead bodies and body parts all around' and 'horrific images of what was on the ground'.'
Button told officers he hadn't been looking at the speed before the crash
Hours after the crash, Button told officers at Singleton District Hospital he had turned off cruise control and sped up as he came down a hill.
'I didn't accelerate going back up the hill so I would slow down,' he told them.
'I didn't brake going into the roundabout because I was already at a slow enough speed, I have driven this road plenty of times.'
He said he hadn't been looking at speed but guessed he had been doing 30km/h.
Button has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasioning the deaths of Darcy Bulman, 30, Rebecca Mullen, 26, Zachary Bray, 29, Andrew Scott, 35, and his wife Lynan Scott, 33, Tori Cowburn, 29, Angus Craig, 28, Nadene McBride, 52, her daughter Kyah McBride, 22, and Kyah's partner, 21-year-old Kane Symons.
He appeared before Newcastle District Court on Thursday morning.
Dressed in prison greens, Mr Button formally entered pleas of guilty to each death via AVL from Shortland prison - solemnly stating 'guilty, your honour' for each count.
Mr Button was seen at points looking down at his hands as he formally pleaded guilty to all 25 charges, which also included 15 counts of causing grievous bodily harm.
