Seatbelts could be mandated on all Victorian buses after several primary school students suffered life-altering injuries in a horrifying crash in Melbourne’s west.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has flagged his government will consider the move after Tuesday’s crash, when a truck collided with a bus carrying 46 children from Exford Primary School at nearby Eynesbury.
“We may have to have a very close look at that,” he said on Thursday.
“It’s really important that we establish what happened here and then learn from it. We owe that to everyone who’s been caught up in this.”
Under Victorian law, buses or coaches are not required to have seatbelts unless there is a seat directly facing a front windscreen.
But they must be worn if available, including on school buses.
First responders – including two brave tradies who helped the terrified children – have said some of the primary school students in the crash were still strapped into their seatbelts as they were being rescued.
Mr Andrews said the responsibility rested with bus passengers to wear their seatbelts and changing the onus to drivers could lead to practical issues.
“The bus wouldn’t go very far. They’d have to stop [for] every new passenger that came on,” he said.
Truck driver Jamie Gleeson, 49, from Balliang East, was bailed after facing Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday night charged with four counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury.
On Thursday, truck operator L & J Cartage confirmed Gleeson was driving one of its vehicles.
It said it was a “small, family-owned” business that had operated for 30 years. Gleeson, a father of two, had 20 years of experience driving trucks and had been with the company for more than 15 years.
“Our hearts go out to everyone involved, especially the children and their families,” the company said.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened at what has happened.”
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Children hospitalised, endure amputations after crash
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Investigators are trying to piece together what caused the collision, with Victoria Police Superintendent Michael Cruse flagging inattention as one line of inquiry.
Gleeson told police he noticed flashes of sunlight coming through the trees before the crash, the court heard on Wednesday.
He said he hit the brakes after seeing the brake lights on the bus in front of him, but suggested he didn’t have enough time to swerve before hitting the back.
Eighteen children were taken to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s and Sunshine hospitals after the crash, with seven seriously injured.
The Royal Children’s Hospital received nine patients aged five to 11, including two who were discharged after treatment at the emergency department.
As of Thursday, seven patients remained in the children’s hospital, including one in intensive care. All are in a stable condition.
The children sustained multiple and traumatic injuries ranging from partial to complete amputations and crushed limbs to severe lacerations to their heads and bodies.
Two were due to go into surgery as of Wednesday afternoon.
Four of the more seriously injured will require further surgeries.
Several students were trapped inside the tipped-over bus before witnesses and emergency workers pulled them free, triaging them at the scene.
Field emergency medical officer and paediatric emergency physician Dr Claire Wilkin treated several children at the scene.
Tradesman Dean Eastway, who helped free some of the children, described finding students screaming and pinned down.
“They were yelling out ‘I don’t want to be in a bus again’, ‘Where’s mum?’, all sorts of stuff. And there was all sorts of injuries. It was just terrible,” he told the ABC’s 7.30.
“There was a couple that were sort of going a little bit in and out. Just asked their name and just trying to keep them calm by just talking to them. Just reassuring them.”
Superintendent Cruse said passersby who stopped to help were heroic and their actions potentially prevented further injuries.
“At the time that the bus overturned, I understand that there was diesel leaking from the bus,” he said.
A GoFundMe page set up by the school on Wednesday to help pay for the injured children’s rehabilitation had raised almost $10,000 by early Thursday.
Lifeline 131 114
Kids Helpline 1800 551 800 (for people aged five-25)
-with AAP
