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January 28, 2026 — 11:07am
The driver who crashed his four-wheel-drive into diners outside a Daylesford pub during a medical episode, killing five people, has been ordered to testify at an upcoming inquest after failing in his fight to remain silent.
William Swale and his legal team earlier told coroner Dimitra Dubrow that despite there being protection from his coronial evidence being used against him, he objected to testifying.
Swale’s barrister raised concerns that his client could be charged with separate offences at a later time and that giving evidence at any inquest could impact a future trial.
On Wednesday, Dubrow said she had weighed up the potential value of his evidence, public interest in the deaths of five people and the possible prejudice to Swale and was satisfied it was in the interests of justice for Swale to appear at the inquest.
Dubrow ordered Swale to give evidence before her in March.
The coroner was earlier told that at the time of the crash Swale, who has diabetes, was suffering from a hypoglycemic attack and passed out at the wheel as he drove down a hill and into a pub’s outdoor dining area.
Diners were seated at wooden picnic tables on a grassed area outside the Royal Daylesford Hotel when they were struck in November 2023.
Vihaan Bhatia, 11, and his father, Vivek Bhatia, 38, died at the scene, alongside family friends Pratibha Sharma, 44, and Jatin Kumar, 30. Sharma’s nine-year-old daughter, Anvi, was taken to hospital, where she later died. Vihaan’s mother, Ruchi Bhatia, and his brother, Abeer, were seriously injured.
Three other people, a woman in her 40s from Kyneton, a man in his 30s from Cockatoo and a boy, then aged 11 months, were also injured.
Five charges of culpable driving causing death against Swale were later dismissed after a Ballarat magistrate found Swale had no case to answer.
The inquest is expected to begin in March.
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