The driver of a bus which rolled, killing 10 and injuring dozens more after a wedding at a NSW winery, will face court charged with a slew of dangerous driving offences.
The 58-year-old man was taken to hospital for mandatory testing and arrested following the bus tragedy in the state’s Hunter region on Sunday night.
He was charged on Monday night with 10 counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and one count of negligent driving occasioning death.
The Maitland man was refused bail and will appear at Cessnock Local Court on Tuesday, NSW Police said.
Ten people were confirmed dead and 25 were taken to hospital with varying injuries after the horror crash at a roundabout on Wine Country Drive near Greta in the Hunter Valley.
Police have begun the grisly task of removing and identifying bodies trapped under the bus.
Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Tracy Chapman earlier described a frantic scene for those who arrived.
“Emergency responders … were able to smash the front windscreen of the bus in order to pull some people out,” Ms Chapman said.
The bus was returning guests from a wedding reception at Wandin Estate winery in Lovedale to Singleton, about 30 minutes away.
Mitchell Gaffney and Madeleine Edsell, who are highly involved with local AFL club the Singleton Roosters, have been identified by media as the newly-weds.
The Warrandyte Cricket Club in Victoria, where Mr Gaffney is understood to have lived until 2017, said a number of its members were involved in the crash.
Police have begun taking witness statements from survivors.
“They’re providing a version of, or witness statement in terms of what they experienced and that will assist us with our inquiries and furthering that investigation,” Ms Chapman said.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the use of seatbelts would undoubtedly be one of the matters looked at by the coroner.
“Whether they were actually wearing seatbelts or not … certainly all of that will come under scrutiny,” she said.
“Again that will be a matter the coroner will have a look and ultimately the driver will have to think about that for the rest of his life.”
