A school bus. Faulty brakes. 27 injured students. Today, the truck driver was jailed.

It was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime.

Students from Loreto College all piled onto a school bus in September 2022, transiting to Melbourne Airport. They were there for a dream trip to NASA camp in the United States.

At the same time, a truck driver who knew his truck brakes were faulty got behind the wheel.

Brett Michael Russell crashed his truck into the bus carrying dozens of Loreto College students.

Now, he's been jailed for more than a decade.

In court, Russell, 63, admitted to injuring 27 students, four school employees and the bus driver, simultaneously three roadside workers near the scene of the crash on the Western Highway, near Bacchus Marsh.

The court was told Russell knew the brakes on his truck and the two trailers he was towing were faulty.

Dashcam footage aired in the County Court of Victoria shows the moment a truck, driven by Brett Michael Russell, crashed into a bus carrying dozens of students.

He was sentenced to 12 years and nine months in jail after he pleaded guilty to 10 counts of negligently causing serious injury and two counts of conduct endangering persons.

One of the school children involved in the crash gave an anonymous statement to the court about how her life changed.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that part of her left foot was amputated, her ribs were fractured, she also sustained a traumatic brain injury and damage to her liver and spleen.

She told the court that in her darkest moments she wished she'd died, talking about the pain and struggle living life after the crash.

The publication cited another student who explained the moments of the crash. "I will never forget the feeling and sound of the truck hitting us, nor will I get rid of the images of bodies flying through the aisles as we rolled down the embankment," they said.

County Court Judge Michael O'Connell accepted the driver had shown genuine remorse and was concerned about the victims after the crash, even asking about them as he was being pulled from the wrecked cabin.

"I must make clear … your genuine remorse cannot be allowed to obscure the harm this offending has caused," the judge said.

The truck driver knew he was taking a serious risk when he got behind the wheel of a truck with faulty brakes.

"How you thought you would be fine is difficult to fathom," O'Connell said.

Russell must serve at least eight years behind bars before he is eligible for parole.

When the sentence was read out, Russell, who appeared via video link, appeared shocked and mouthed a curse word.

Featured image: AAP.