‘Trapped in your bus of hell’: Hunter Valley crash survivor vents anger at driver Brett Button

A Hunter Valley bus crash survivor has described how he was trapped in driver Brett Button’s “bus of hell”.
When Drew El Moussalli stepped into the Newcastle district court witness box on Tuesday during Button’s sentence hearing, he asked Judge Roy Ellis to order Button to show some respect and look at him as he spoke about the impact of the fateful night when 10 people died and 25 were injured.
El Moussalli claimed Button had been bowing his head for the past two days and not daring to look at the families of those killed or the survivors.
“Last night, as part of one of my flashbacks and dreams, it (Button keeping his head down) reminded me of the night where he killed 10 people and had his hands in his pockets while I had my shirt covering one of my best mate’s heads as he was bleeding to death,” El Moussalli said.
“My recurring nightmares are a dark reminder of you,” he told Button.
“I get flashbacks of you showing no remorse or care. I regularly get woken up thinking I’m trapped in your bus of hell.
“The dead bodies that were crushed by the back of the bus is a vision that I cannot get out of my head.”
Another survivor, Sharyn Junkeer, told how she was sitting in the two front seats of the bus with her husband, Jason.
“The driver approached the roundabout at speed. It did not feel as if he applied the brakes at all. As the wheels began to lift on the right hand side of the bus, I knew that it was going to tip and I was certain at that moment that I was about to die,” Junkeer said.
“The sensation of falling sideways and being completely powerless was terrifying.
“When the side of the bus hit the road, the window I was seated against smashed.”
Junkeer, who suffered multiple fractures to her pelvis and lower back, said it was a miracle she survived.
Jason Junkeer told the court he turned to his wife and said “gee, it feels like he’s coming in hot” before feeling sheer terror and panic as the bus began to tip over.
“The memories of that night are forever seared into my mind,” he said.
“I’m not sure how long I lost consciousness for but I eventually woke up with a mix of shock, confusion, pain and relief that I was awake somehow completely covered in glass, metal and debris.
“I just thought I have to find Sharyn and get out now.”
He remembered seeing his wife lying face down and appearing lifeless before noticing a slight movement in her left arm.
“I floated in and out of consciousness … I tried to help others when I could. My legs gave way and I passed out again. I came to again and this time I couldn’t see Sharyn. I had to get out and find her.”
Junkeer said he found his wife lying face up on the footpath barely conscious and badly injured.
He described how he now had debilitating flashbacks of the “horrendous images, sounds and events I witnessed that night”.
“I cannot unsee them and only try to live with them the best I can.”
Earlier, the court heard from Steven Symons, who said the impact of his son Kane’s death had been far-reaching and devastating.
Kane Symons, 21, and his girlfriend, Kyah McBride, 22, and her mother, Nadene, were killed in the crash on 11 June 2023.
Symons said his son had been given a rare second chance at life after nearly dying when he was 11 from being hit in the head by a golf ball, fracturing his skull.
He suffered significant bleeding to the brain and was in a coma for seven days but he recovered, and the accident profoundly shaped his outlook on life.
“He lived with an acute awareness of how precious life is, embracing every moment with vigour and enthusiasm,” Symons said.
“To lose him now after being given that second chance is a loss that is both cruel and unjust.”
Symons described his son, a champion surf lifesaver, as a beacon of light, warmth and kindness.
“The future we envisioned with him has been stolen from us.
“Kane and I had a special bond. A few weeks before Kane’s death we had the opportunity to travel to Adelaide to watch the football together. That trip was the last time I saw Kane alive.
“Kane’s death has left a void that will never be filled, and the love we had for him and the love he shared for us is lost for ever.”
Button, 59, has pleaded guilty to 10 charges of dangerous driving causing death, nine counts of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and 16 counts of causing bodily harm by wanton driving.
Prosecutors dropped 10 manslaughter charges against Button after his guilty pleas in a deal criticised by a number of the victims’ families.
Manslaughter charges carry a 25-year maximum jail sentence while the lesser charge of dangerous driving causing death carries a maximum 10-year jail term.
Button was arrested after losing control of the bus taking 35 wedding guests from the Wandin Valley Estate to Singleton about 11.30pm.
The 57-seat bus slammed into a guard rail and rolled on to its side.
Button had taken the roundabout on Wine Country Drive at Greta too fast.
Forensic analysts believe Button took 400mg of the opioid Tramadol in the 24 hours before the crash.
Button accepted his driving ability was impaired by the painkiller, which can cause drowsiness, mental clouding and visual functioning deficiencies.
Button pleaded guilty to the lesser charges after agreeing his driving was dangerous because he had taken more Tramadol than the maximum amount recommended by doctors, engaged in risk-taking behaviour and drove too fast to safely negotiate the roundabout.
The 10 people who died in the crash were: Darcy Bulman, Nadene McBride and her daughter, Kyah, Kane Symons, Andrew Scott and his wife, Lynan, Zach Bray, Angus Craig, Tori Cowburn, and Rebecca Mullen.
Many on board were members of the Singleton Roosters Australian Rules Football club and had earlier attended the wedding of Mitchell Gaffney and Madeleine Edsell.
The sentencing hearing continues.