Driver appeals sentence over deadly wedding bus crash
A wedding bus driver impaired by an opioid during a horror crash that killed 10 people has appealed against his 32-year jail sentence.
Brett Andrew Button, 60, was driving too fast and had engaged in risk-taking behaviour before the deadly crash, which also injured 25 people, in the NSW Hunter Valley region in June 2023.
He was sentenced in September to a maximum jail term of 32 years with a non-parole period of 24 years.
At the time, NSW District Court Judge Roy Ellis said he was unaware of any other case that had such a devastating impact on so many people.
Button has filed a challenge to his sentence, which was briefly heard in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Thursday.
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A hearing has been scheduled for October 3.
Prosecutors expect voluminous evidence to be tendered, including victim impact statements from the families of those who died or were injured in the crash.
The court will consider a psychological report for Button and several references attesting to his good character.
The bus driver will not appeal against his conviction.
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He pleaded guilty in the District Court to 10 charges of dangerous driving causing death, nine counts of driving causing grievous bodily harm and 16 counts of causing bodily harm by wanton driving.
Button was told in 2022 that he was dependent on the opioid Tramadol.
He admitted taking more than the prescribed amount prior to the crash.
The vehicle entered a roundabout on Wine Country Drive on the way to Singleton after a wine estate wedding at an estimated 52km/h.
It then accelerated to about 56km/h when on the roundabout, the District Court was earlier told.
The speed required to tip over the bus was only 31km/h.
A class action has been filed by those injured and family members of the deceased against the NSW government alleging failings in the design of the roundabout.
The speed limit through the interchange was also allegedly too high.
-AAP
