Ten people were killed when a bus carrying wedding guests rolled in foggy conditions in an Australian wine region on Sunday night.
The 58-year-old driver, Brett Andrew Button, was arrested and has been charged with 10 counts of causing death by dangerous driving, following the horror crash that left another 25 people injured, police confirmed on Monday.
The incident happened just after 11.30 pm at a roundabout in the town of Greta in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales state, north of Sydney.
The guests had earlier attended a wedding at the Wandin Estate Winery and were heading to their accommodation in the town of Singleton, assistant police commissioner Tracy Chapman said.
One guest told Australia’s Seven News it had been a nice day and a fairytale wedding.
Ms Chapman would not detail the allegations, including whether speed was a factor, but told reporters “there is sufficient information... for us to establish that there will be charges”.
A motorist who drove past the crash scene, identified by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) only as Alison, said the fog was so heavy she could not make out the colours of the flashing lights of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks.
“The fog was terrible,” she told the ABC. “It was super foggy. You could barely see in front of you.”
Of the 25 people injured, 21 remained in hospital on Monday morning local time and one was in a critical condition, the state government said.
The conditions of the others were described as stable. Another 18 passengers were uninjured.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese thanked first responders and offered government support to victims and their families, saying the “mental scars of this will not go away”.
“For a joyous day like that, in a beautiful place, to end with such terrible loss of life and injury is so cruel and so sad and so unfair,” Mr Albanese told reporters.
“People hire a bus for weddings in order to keep their guests safe. And that just adds to the unimaginable nature of this tragedy,” he added.
Jay Suvaal, the mayor of Cessnock, said the crash was “truly horrific”.
