“Get me there”: Bride’s reaction to news of tragic bus crash
Following the tragic bus crash in the Hunter Valley that saw 10 people lose their lives, a wedding guest of Mitchell Gaffney and Madeleine Edsell has recounted the horror.
Edsell’s cousin has revealed the devastating moment the bride learned of the crash, saying she demanded to be taken to the scene.
The passengers were heading to The Royal Hotel in Singleton where several guests were staying, returning from the wedding venue Wandin Estate Winery in Lovedale, when the bus rolled near the Hunter Expressway off-ramp at Greta just after 11:30pm.
It is now believed to be Australia’s worst bus crash in three decades.
Edsell’s cousin Kynan Stanford was with the bride when she found out about the crash and told 7NEWS, “The bride was pretty much kicking down the door trying to get in the car, saying, ‘Get me there, I need to go’, and we were like, ‘No, you don’t need to go’.”
Emergency services smashed the windscreen of the bus as they reached to rescue passengers trapped inside.
The victims of the heartbreaking incident are being remembered as vibrant people with promising lives ahead of them.
The tight-knit Hunter Valley town of Singleton has been shaken, with seven of the 10 deceased believed to be locals.
A junior doctor, a husband and wife and a mother and daughter are among those who passed away.
Two of the victims were Nadene McBride, a coach for the Singleton Roosterettes, and her 22-year-old daughter Kyah who played on the team.
Husband and father Graham “Banger” McBride remains in hospital.
“There are no words to describe the grief our family is feeling at this time,” the McBride family said in a statement.
Kane Symons, Kyah’s boyfriend is among one of the deceased and is being remembered as a keen surfer, a remarkable leader and a genuine friend by his former Tasmanian Carlton Park Surf Life Saving Club.
Singleton husband and wife Andrew and Lynan Scott, who both played for Singleton Rooster teams, were also victims of the crash and have two young children.
Another victim, Tori Cowburn was captain of The Roosterettes and also played basketball, netball, tennis and touch football.
Darcy Bulman, a 30-year-old investigator for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, travelled from Melbourne with her partner for the wedding festivities.
She sadly passed away and her partner is thought to be among one of the injured.
Rebecca Mullen, a junior doctor and Singleton local working at Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital was one of the younger victims.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said Mullen had a “long and illustrious career in medicine” ahead of her.
“This has made a very dark day even darker for NSW Health,” Park told reporters on June 13.
Zach Bray, a mining engineer in the Hunter region, and engineer Angus Craig, who had worked with mining company BHP in Queensland.
Singleton Mayor Sue Moore said her close-knit community was struggling to come to terms with the heartbreaking incident.
Community members poured in for a vigil held at the Singleton Baptist Church to show their support on June 13.
The owners of local hotels have started offering accommodation to the victims’ families, with many needing to extend their stay in the area.
The bus driver, Brett Button, 58, faced Cessnock Local Court on June 13 with 10 counts of deadly dangerous driving.
Image credit: 7NEWS