Schoolgirls frantically pulled their friends from the wreck of a bus after a truck with faulty brakes careened into the vehicle, amid fears fuel spilled from the accident would spark a blaze.

Brett Michael Russell crashed his truck into the bus carrying students from Loreto College in Ballarat who were on their way to Melbourne Airport for a once-in-a-lifetime NASA camp in the United States in September 2022.

The 63-year-old yesterday pleaded guilty in the County Court of Victoria to a dozen charges, including 10 counts of negligently causing serious injury and two of conduct endangering persons.

He admitted to injuring 27 students, four school employees and the bus driver, and endangering three roadside workers near the scene of the crash.

The court was told Russell knew the brakes

See Full Page