THE driver responsible for killing 10 people and injuring 25 in a horror wedding bus crash at Greta last year is set to appeal his jail sentence.
Brett Andrew Button, 59, was sentenced after a harrowing three-day hearing in Newcastle District Court last week to 32 years behind bars, with 24 years non-parole.
The NSW Supreme Court confirmed on Sunday a notice of intention to appeal was lodged by Button's legal team late on Friday afternoon.
Button had 28 days to file a notice of intention to appeal - the first preliminary step in the process - after his sentence was handed down on Wednesday afternoon.
It means Button's lawyers now have 12 months to organise a possible appeal against the length of the sentence.
Button had pleaded guilty to 10 counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, nine counts of occasioning grievous bodily harm, and 16 of furious driving causing bodily harm.
He was behind the wheel of a bus travelling from a Wandin Estate wedding to the newlywed couple's hometown of Singleton when it rolled on a Wine Country Drive roundabout at about 11.30pm on June 11, 2023.
Button had taken too much of the opioid painkiller he was known to be addicted to, was travelling too fast, and had ignored passengers' pleas to slow down at the time of the crash.
Husband and wife Andrew and Lynan Scott, Singleton doctor Rebecca Mullen, Angus Craig, Darcy Bulman, mother and daughter Nadene and Kyah McBride, Kane Symons, Zach Bray and AFL Roosterettes captain Tori Cowburn lost their lives in the crash.
Button was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail for each death. He was sentenced to between two years and seven months, and 10 months, for each injured person. Each carried a 25 per cent discount for his guilty pleas.
His total sentence of 32 years involved a partial accumulation.
Across two heavy and emotionally-charged days in Newcastle District Court last week, more than 40 survivors and the loved ones of victims painted a graphic image of devastation in their victim impact statements.
Family, friends and the mentally and physically injured filed into the courtroom arm-in-arm for the sentencing on September 11 and let out cries when Judge Roy Ellis read his decision. Button stood silently shaking.
Judge Ellis said Button had a duty of care as a professional driver to get the wedding guests home unscathed.
"I am satisfied that his driving demonstrates that he had abandoned his responsibility to ensure the safety of his passengers," he said.
The lengthy sentence was a surprise to many, and was welcomed by some families.
"It shows they mattered," Steve Symons, father of 21-year-old Kane Symons, said.
No dates have yet been set for any potential appeal, the NSW Supreme Court confirmed on Sunday.
