One of its buses was carrying 53 members of the brass band from Mailefihi Siuʻilikutapu College in Tonga, when it plunged down an embankment at State Highway 2, south of Gisborne.
It is believed the bus went through a barrier at Wharerata and crashed down the bank about 10.30pm on 24 December, 2016.
The band had been touring New Zealand to raise funds for the college’s 70th anniversary.
New Zealand Herald reports the charges were laid by WorkSafe at the Waitakere District Court on 21 December 2017, just days before the one-year anniversary of the crash.
