North East truck driver destroyed vehicles after crashing into bus

Greta West man Peter Raymond Buckley was driving on the Western Ring Road, near Broadmeadows in Melbourne, on December 12 last year.

His semi-trailer was directly behind a bus.

The 68-year-old failed to leave enough of a gap in front of his vehicle and the traffic suddenly slowed.

He braked, but the truck impacted with the bus, forcing it into a Nissan and the Nissan into a tip truck.

The trailers on Buckley's rig veered into another lane, hitting a Ford Fiesta and a Mazda 3.

A Toyota Kluger was also struck.

The Wangaratta court heard the bus suffered major damage and the driver was pinned inside by his legs.

He had to be cut out and was taken to hospital.

Two others were hospitalised with minor injuries.

The bus, the Nissan and the Ford Fiesta were write-offs, with various damage sustained by other vehicles.

The court heard Buckley was polite and co-operative when spoken to by police at the scene, and showed concern for the welfare of the other drivers.

He said he didn't have time to stop and his Kenworth semi-trailer "just slid".

"Everything's locked up," he said.

Lawyer Angus Lingham said the Wangaratta-based Cannys Carrying employee had been a truck driver for 46 years, and travelled 150,000 to 200,000 kilometres annually.

He had no prior convictions and took the route from the North East to Melbourne each day for 19 years.

Magistrate Ian Watkins said the incident showed how life could change in a split second.

He accepted the offence was an aberration.

Mr Watkins imposed a $900 fine and did not make any orders on Buckley's licence.

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