Ten people are dead and more than two dozen others were injured after a bus carrying wedding guests crashed in Australia in what police are calling the deadliest roadway accident in almost three decades.
The Cessnock Police Department reported the wreck took place Sunday just after 11:30 p.m. in Greta, a small town in New South Wales about 110 miles north of Sydney.
The crash occurred in foggy conditions at a roundabout on Wine Country Drive in the Hunter Valley region, police said.
The driver of the bus, Brett Button, 58, was charged in connection to the crash after being released from a hospital for mandatory testing and assessment, according to police. Button was being held at a Cessnock police station, Police Assistant Commissioner Tracy Chapman said.
Rescuers, the commissioner said, smashed the front window to rescue people from the bus after the wrecked and rolled onto its side.
Driver charged, set to appear in court
As of Monday morning, police had charged him with ten counts of dangerous driving occasioning death.
Police said he was slated to appear in court Tuesday for a hearing on the charges.
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10 dead, 25 injured
As of Monday morning, the victims’ names had not been released by police.
The guests had attended a wedding at the Wandin Estate Winery and were heading to their hotel in the town of Singleton, Chapman said.
Of the injured, one was in critical condition and several others remained in hospitals, the state government said. The conditions of the others were listed in stable condition.
Police had said 18 passengers escaped injury. But they later said there were only 36 people on the bus: the 10 dead, the 25 injured and the driver. The 18 were the least seriously injured among the passengers taken to hospitals.
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Cause of bus crash under investigation
Police Commissioner Karen Webb said investigators have not yet determined what caused the bus to roll.
Webb said whether passengers were wearing seatbelts also “will come under scrutiny.”
Linq Buslines, which provides school bus and event charters, owned the bus involved in the crash, the Associated Press reported. According to the company’s website, all its buses are equipped with seatbelts.
“Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the crash are ongoing,” police wrote in a news release.
Deadliest road accident in nearly 3 decades
According to police, the crash marked the country’s most deadly road accident since 1994, when a bus crashed in Brisbane.
During the October wreck, the bus skidded on its side across a highway and down an embankment, killing 12 people and injuring 38.
Contributing: Associated Press
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
