A bus driver who was behind the wheel of the bus that crashed in Malifa on 2 October 2023 killing two passengers changed his plea to guilty in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

He was initially charged with 39 counts Togamataimoana Vaea pleaded guilty to only four. 

The four charges include two counts of motor manslaughter, one of driving an unlicensed vehicle and one of negligent driving causing injuries to 33 passengers of the bus.

According to the summary of facts, Vaea was driving a wooden bus named "Laumoso'oi" from Falealili to Malifa on 2 October 2023 when it got into an accident at Malifa Road near "Phat Burger" restaurant.

The accident caused the death of two of the passengers, one male from Poutasi and one from Tafatafa, Falealili and left 33 passengers injured as a result of the accident.

When the matter was first mentioned in the Supreme Court, Vaea pleaded not guilty to the 39 charges against him.

Senior Judge Justice Vui Clarence Nelson adjourned the matter to 11 March for sentence.

The two men who died after sustaining injuries following the crash were aged 64 and 66 years old.

Following the bus crash in October 2023, the Land Transport Authority confirmed the bus in question was unfit for public transportation.

The bus belonging to Laumoso’oi Transport was carrying more than 30 passengers and heading to Apia on the Cross Island Road when it swirled on the opposite lane hitting a Hyundai Tuscon in an attempt to stop. 

Several passengers and villagers who were treated at the Moto’otua hospital told the Samoa Observer on the day of the accident that the bus had had faulty brakes for many weeks but continued to service the route.

Subsequently, the Laumoso’oi Transport Company which had been in operation for more than 40 years, decided to halt its services until further notice. 

After hours of a hearing of a disputed statement by the defendant, his lawyer Unasa Iuni Sapolu confirmed to the court that her client wanted to change his plea to guilty.

The disputed statement by Vaea claims that he did not tell the police that the differentials of the bus were changed with old parts.

Justice Vui will deliver his sentence on 11 March for the four charges that Mr Vaea has pleaded guilty to.