More than three years after a truck with faulty brakes ploughed into a school bus in the dark, court delays continue to traumatise the victims.
"Delays in court proceedings have been exhausting," teacher Rebecca Hudson, who was on the bus when it was hit, told a Melbourne court on Thursday.
"I have gone from crying uncontrollably, to feeling incredibly numb. Each delay sets me back and makes the mental images and the guilt re-emerge."
A schoolgirl said she awoke to "massive shock" and hearing others crying as the Loreto College Ballarat bus was pushed off the road by a prime mover truck, down an incline and rolled over.
She was supposed to be heading away on the trip of a lifetime to NASA space camp in the US.
Instead, she held her friend's bleeding head, fearing she would die on the way to hospital and the blood on her hands would be the only thing that remained of the girl.
Truck driver Brett Russell faced the second day of a pre-sentence hearing where another 20 victims of the horrific September 2022 crash on the Western Freeway, and their family, continued to deliver statements to the County Court.
Twenty-seven teenage girls were on the bus when Russell hit it, with most suffering injuries including amputations, back factures, concussions and PTSD.
All of the victims told the court their lives had changed immeasurably in the years since.
"What happened that day didn't just break a bus, it broke people and we are still putting ourselves back together," a student, aged 15 at the time, said.
Another teen, who was knocked out on impact and woke to find herself hanging from the bus' roof, said: "The course of my life and so many others' was changed that day."
The girl, who suffered a fractured neck, spine and a concussion, recalled turning to see her friend hanging off the roof.
"This crime has so many ripples," she said, in a statement read by prosecutors.
"It's not just physical injuries that continue to impact - it's the emotional and psychological wounds that people cannot see that we have to manage everyday."
One girl's mother took aim at Russell after he "nearly took my daughter away".
"You made such reckless decisions that had the potential for catastrophic consequences," she said.
Russell appeared overcome with emotion on Thursday, and at times wiped away tears as he watched the girls, their parents and school staff speak about how his crimes had impacted them.
His barrister Richard Edney was concerned about Russell as he had become "incredibly agitated" and spoke to him over the lunch break to ensure he was fit and able to follow the hearing.
Russell, who has been allowed to appear via video link from prison for medical reasons, admitted to police that he knew the truck's engine brakes were defective before he hit the bus.
He also knew that the brakes on two trailers he was towing, carrying tonnes of sand, were faulty.
The 63-year-old's birthday fell on the first day of the hearing on Wednesday, as he pleaded guilty to 12 offences including negligently causing serious injury and reckless conduct.
He is facing up to 10 years in prison for each of the 10 negligently causing injury charges.
The hearing continues on Friday.
