Australia bus crash | Police claim driver was going too fast in foggy conditions
Site of a bus crash, where 10 people from a wedding party were killed.
Australian police have claimed that the man who was driving the bus that crashed, killing 10 people and injuring around 20 others, was allegedly rushing too fast and that too in foggy conditions in Hunter Valley.
The passengers in the bus were returning from a wedding on Sunday when the vehicle suddenly overturned at a roundabout near Greta in New South Wales (NSW).
A lot of the victims are connected to tight-knit rural sporting clubs, reported local media. The crash is among the deadliest road incidents that have occurred in Australia.
Man charged of 'dangerous driving'
The police have charged 58-year-old Brett Andrew Button with multiple counts of negligence and dangerous driving after he was arrested on Monday.
ALSO READ |Australia: Ten killed in wedding bus crash, driver charged with 10 counts of dangerous driving
The man was allegedly driving "in a manner that was inconsistent with the conditions", said the NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, while speaking to the reporters on Tuesday.
"He lost control of that vehicle... obviously the speed was too quick for him to negotiate that roundabout," Acting Assistant Commissioner David Waddell stated.
"Fourteen people injured in the crash in the Hunter Valley wine region remain in hospital, with two in critical condition," informed the police. The victims have not been formally identified by the police but the Mayor of Singleton Sue Moore claimed that many lived in the small town.
"I know we'll never get over it," Sue Moore said while speaking to the BBC.
Families reel from the horror of bus crash
Few local families have been there with the people injured in the hospital in Sydney and Newcastle Moore said, adding that others are planning funerals as they reel from "the worst possible thing that could ever happen in their lives".
"As far as I know, one lot of parents are leaving two kids orphaned," she stated.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said that there was a junior doctor, Rebecca Mullen, among those killed. "This has made a very dark day even darker for NSW Health," he said.
WATCH |10 dead, 25 injured as bus carrying wedding guests rolls over in Australian wine region
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the country was rocked by the "horrific tragedy", particularly because people "associate weddings with love and... celebrations".
"Of course, the scars will last for such a long, long period of time," he said while speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The crash site was "still an active crime scene", police stated on Monday, as forensics officers continue working through the wreckage.
You cannow write forwionews.comand be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with ushere.
WATCH WION LIVE HERE