A truck driver has faced court charged with 46 offences in relation to a crash that left dozens of students and staff in hospital last year.
Police allege Brett Michael Russell, 60, was driving a truck that collided with a bus carrying students from Loreto College, Ballarat on the Western Highway on September 21.
The students were en-route to Melbourne Airport ahead of a NASA Space Camp in the United States.
The impact of the crash caused the bus to roll down an embankment at Pentland Hills, near Bacchus Marsh.
Emergency services took 33 people to hospital after the crash.
Mr Russell faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday afternoon charged with 46 offences including reckless conduct causing serious injury, dangerous driving causing serious injury, and reckless conduct endangering life.
Detective Senior Constable Holly Gibson, from the Major Collision Unit, told the court Mr Russell had been returning from a trip to Nhill when the crash occurred.
At the time, the section of the freeway where the collision happened had a speed limit reduction due to an earlier crash.
Police alleged that despite the 40kph limit on certain sections of the road, Mr Russell was travelling at speed.
Braking capacity 'was declining'
As part of police investigations, the B-double being driven by Mr Russell underwent a mechanical investigation, where it was determined the vehicle's brakes were declining, the court was told.
The court heard that during a police interview on Monday morning, Mr Russell was aware there were issues with the truck but decided to drive anyway.
Magistrate Andrew McKenna granted Mr Russell bail on several conditions, including that he not drive a motor vehicle, that he surrender his passport, and that he not leave Victoria or Australia.
"The conditions of bail will provide some degree of community safety," Magistrate McKenna said.
Mr Russell was ordered to appear on July 31 for committal mention.
Lasting impact from crash
Detective Senior Constable Gibson told the court the range of injuries suffered by students in the crash ranged from bruising to near-amputation.
She said the mental trauma of the incident was "not to be underestimated".
In November, Loreto College Ballarat principal Michelle Brodrick detailed the impact the crash had had on the school community.
"The complexity of what will be ongoing for the next year or two isn't something I've had to deal with before," she said.
In the weeks following the crash, portable classrooms were provided to Loreto by the Victorian government to increase accessibility for injured students and staff as they returned to the campus.
Ms Brodrick said the extra classrooms would remain in place until a new lift was installed.
