Charges dropped against man who killed five people outside Daylesford pub
A grieving family has called the justice system broken after William Herbert Swale, 67 had charges relating to a deadly crash dismissed by a Ballarat magistrate.
Swale had been charged with five counts of culpable driving causing death, two of negligently causing serious injury and seven counts of reckless conduct endangering life.
He was said to be suffering a severe hypoglycaemic episode when he crashed into a Daylesford beer garden, killing five people outside the Royal Daylesford Hotel on November 5 last year.
The family of a young father and his son slammed the justice system and said they plan to sue.
Among the dead were Pratibha Sharma, 44, her nine-year-old daughter Anvi and partner Jatin Kumar, 30, along with Vivek Bhatia, 38, and son Vihaan, 11.
Several others were injured.
Magistrate Guillaume Bailin presided over a three-day committal hearing at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court before making his decision calling the prosecution’s case weak.
“As such I discharge the accused on all charges,” he said.
“The acquittal of this driver has left us devastated. We feel that the (committal) was deeply unfair, and justice has not been served,” Vivek’s uncle and Vihaan’s great-uncle Mukesh Bhatia told the Herald Sun.
“How can someone who neglected their own medical warnings, causing the deaths of five innocent people, walk free? Our family is calling for accountability.”
Bhatia said his family planned to sue Swale.
“We demand justice for the lives lost, for the families shattered, and for the pain that will haunt us forever,” he said.
Swale declined to comment, while his lawyer said his client was“deeply distressed” by the tragedy.
“He has asked me, again, to express his deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the deceased, to those injured, to their family and friends, and to the wider community, especially those in Daylesford,” he said.
“I must say, there is zero justice system,” Bhatia’s relative, Rupinder Singh said.
“Zero. Just zero.”
Vivek Bhatia’s father, Ashok, said “There’s no value of five lives.”
Prosecutors argued Swale knew the risks with hypoglycaemia, including the loss of driving ability.
They alleged that despite this, he made the decision to get behind the wheel before he drove into patrons seated at picnic tables outside the pub at 6.07pm.
Two diabetes experts told the court Swale was likely in a severe hypoglycaemic state when he first started driving at 5.36pm and that his actions were not voluntary.
Bailin said the prosecution failed to challenge the experts on parts of their evidence, which showed a continuous blood monitoring device recorded Swale’s blood-glucose levels dropping from 7.2 millimoles per litre – within the normal range – to 2.9 mmol in a 20-minute window about an hour before the crash.
Swale also allegedly received the first of several phone alerts at 5.18pm that his blood-glucose levels were low.
"At 5:22 PM, Swale attempted to dine at Winespeake Cellar + Deli, but quickly left due to a lack of available seating. He resumed his drive at 5:36 PM, and just six minutes later, his BMW SUV was captured on CCTV obstructing traffic on the road outside Daylesford bowls club. Other drivers were forced to manoeuvre around the stationary vehicle.
After a further 23 minutes and a distance of approximately 300 metres, Swale lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a beer garden. Paramedics who responded to the scene found his blood glucose level to be 1.1 mmol/L, a dangerously low reading that placed him at risk of severe health complications."
Bailin paid tribute to family members on both sides for carrying themselves with resilience and dignity in court.
Jonathan Jackson, 23rd September 2026
