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NZ-Born Truck Driver Jailed over Serious Injury School Bus Crash
Brett Russell was sentenced to 12 years and 9 months for negligent driving causing serious injury after crashing a truck into a school bus, injuring multiple students.
- On Monday, Brett Michael Russell was sentenced to 12 years and 9 months in the County Court of Victoria for crashing into a school bus near Bacchus Marsh on September 21, 2022.
- Shortly before the crash, investigators were told Russell had `used up` his air brakes on a steep hill, knowing his 62-tonne truck’s brakes were faulty on the Western Freeway where the speed limit was reduced from 110kph to 40kph.
- The bus carried 32 people, including 27 Loreto College Ballarat students, and 10 suffered serious injuries such as spinal fractures, after plunging down an embankment.
- Russell has already served 230 days in pre-sentence detention, faces a non-parole period of eight years, and will be deported to New Zealand upon release.
- Victims and families gave impact statements describing long-term trauma, and Judge Michael O'Connell said remorse could not obscure the harm caused, reflecting the gravity of the offences.
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Sydney Morning Herald+3 Reposted by 3 other sources
Truck driver responsible for horror school bus crash jailed for 12 years
Brett Michael Russell will spend more than a decade behind bars after crashing his truck into a school bus carrying dozens of Loreto College students.
·Sydney, Australia
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Total News Sources13
Leaning Left4Leaning Right4Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution40% Left, 40% Right
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources lean Left, 40% of the sources lean Right
40% Right
L 40%
C 20%
R 40%
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