Daylesford Hotel lacked valid outdoor dining permit at time of fatal crash
The central Victorian pub where five people were killed by a driver suffering a diabetic episode did not hold a valid outdoor dining permit at the time of the tragedy, a coronial inquest has heard.
Hepburn Shire councillor Ron Torres told the Coroner's Court of Victoria on Thursday that The Royal Daylesford Hotel's outdoor seating permit had lapsed prior to the November 5, 2023 crash, in which William Herbert Swale experienced a severe hypoglycaemic episode and drove into two families dining on the footpath outside the Daylesford venue.
The five victims — Pratibha Sharma, 44, her nine-year-old daughter Anvi, her husband Jatin Kumar, 30, their friend Vivek Bhatia, 38, and his son Vihann, 11 — died at the scene. Several others were injured.
Torres told the court the venue's outdoor seating approval had initially expired on June 30, 2023, with an extension granted to July 31 before that too lapsed without renewal.
"The council approached the Royal Hotel and brought to their attention that they had not applied for the necessary permit," Torres said. "During September this was identified and notified to the hotel."
An application was lodged by the venue on September 9, but remained unprocessed by the time of the crash nearly two months later.
"There was no full permission granted by council to have the outdoor tables and chairs in that location," Torres said.
While he confirmed council had taken enforcement action, Torres acknowledged the council held the power to direct the hotel to remove the outdoor furniture entirely, a step that was not taken.
He pointed to a significant resourcing constraint within the shire as a likely factor in the permit's failure to be processed in time.
"(There) was a very small team of two inspectors servicing a large municipality.
That's a limitation in itself in assessing businesses throughout the shire," Torres said.
When asked whether council's internal response processes may have made timely permit approval difficult, Torres conceded it was "possible, if not likely."
Swale, who faced serious driving charges in the aftermath of the crash, had all charges dropped after a magistrate determined he had no case to answer.
Appearing before the Coroners Court in March, Swale described the incident as an "incomprehensible tragedy" and offered an apology to the victims' families.
"It has been rather traumatising I guess to me as well and I think of them from the moment I wake up to the moment I sleep and they are always with me," he said. "We're getting on better now but they're always with me … this as a catastrophe, it should not have happened and I'm devastated I was a part of it."
The inquest is set to continue on Friday, with Monash University Accident Research Centre associate professor David Logan scheduled to give evidence.
Jonathan Jackson, 15th June 2026
