Friends of the injured are in shock at the horrific bus crash that killed at least 10 guests of a “fairytale” wedding for a couple described as “well-loved” and “beautiful” people.
Locals were laying flowers at the scene of the crash on Monday as the community woke to the horrific news that the bus, carrying dozens of wedding guests, had crashed at a roundabout connecting Wine Country Drive and the Hunter expressway, killing at least 10 and injuring more than 20.
The crash came after the wedding of Mitchell Gaffney and Maddy Edsell, who had moved to the region from Melbourne some years ago.
The pair wed at the Wandin Estate Winery near Greta on Sunday night. Their celebrant described them as “beautiful people” who married in a “beautiful ceremony”.
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Edsell arrived in a vintage Volkswagon beetle. The look on Gaffney’s face as she arrived prompted the celebrant to later post: “My heart”.
“Today I had Maddy and Mitch get married out at Wandin. It was a beautiful ceremony … I saw them for their first look … Maddy rocked up to the ceremony in a restored 1957 Volkswagen beetle convertible,” she said on Instagram.
“It was so cool. [Her Dad] had been holding onto it for 42 years and finally got it ready for Madeleine’s wedding. They started the car up at the accommodation and drove it … in through Wandin gates and down the grass onto the ceremony … it was so cool to see her rock up in this bug.”
Both keen footballers, Gaffney and Edsell belong to the Singleton men’s and women’s teams, the Roosters and Roosterettes.
Prior to moving north, Gaffney also played for the Warrandyte cricket club, in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
The club said roughly eight players and five of their partners were up in the Hunter Valley for Gaffney’s wedding.
Club president, Royce Jaksic, said members of the club were in shock.
He said there was still some uncertainty about the numbers of those injured, but that his best information was that no one associated with the club had lost their lives or suffered life-threatening injuries. Some had suffered less-serious injuries, he said.
“We probably had 13 or 14 people on the bus out of 37, for that to be the case is just a blessing,” he told Guardian Australia. “Someone was looking after them.”
Jaksic was not president when Gaffney played at the club. But he said it was clear his family were “certainly well-loved in the community”.
“They’ve been stalwarts in the community for a long period of time,” he said. “Just goes to show that, five or six years later, we’ve got a heap of guys going up to the Hunter Valley to celebrate his wedding. So well respected, well-loved young man.”
One man who said he was at the wedding, but not on the bus, told the Seven Network guests had started panicking when they learned of the crash.
“It was a nice day, pretty good wedding, fairytale stuff, then … we got the news there had been a crash and we all started panicking,” he said.
Wandin Valley Estate was closed on Monday.
“Out of respect Wandin Valley Estate will be closed today,” a sign on the gates read.
The estate said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened” by the crash.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of the victims, and we are supporting them in any way we can,” the statement said. “At this time, we are providing support to those guests who need our help, and we wish to maintain their privacy and won’t be making any further statements at this time.”
One wedding videographer, who worked regularly at Wandin, said the events were always “full of fun and laughter, right to the very end”.
“I cannot but feel the sadness that must be surrounding this young couple on their wedding day,” the videographer said on social media.
The operator of the bus, Linq, said its staff and their families had been offered trauma counselling. The company said it was “incredibly saddened” by news of the crash.
“Our hearts are with everyone involved in this terrible tragedy and we send our deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones,” the company said in a statement.
“We would like to thank the first responders to the scene, the emergency personnel and those who are continuing to assist.”
