TRUCKIE HEART ATTACK RIDDLE

collision,” Ms McGarvie said after viewing the footage.

The crash happened on Broderick Rd after he failed to stop at the Heales Rd intersection about 4.30pm.

Mr Eales, 27, died at the scene and his girlfriend sustained serious injuries.

The committal hearing heard from two medical experts yesterday — cardiologist John Amerena and forensic medicine specialist Jason Schreiber.

Professor Amerena said he had been treating Mr Voss for a heart condition for a decade before the crash, and the man had been managing his coronary issues appropriately.

Even with the benefit of the video, both experts testified that heart attack symptoms were sometimes difficult to detect, and it was therefore impossible to determine if Mr Voss suffered one moments before the crash.

However, defence lawyer Peter Morrissey said his client was a seasoned local truck driver, who knew his route and planned to turn left at the intersection.

Mr Morrissey said the fact the man failed to slow, brake or swerve and ran straight through the intersection suggested there was a “reasonable possibility” the heart attack had started before the crash and affected his ability to drive.

“(It) looks as though he zoned out in some form,” the lawyer said.

“The evidence is uncontroversial he had a heart attack, either shortly before or shortly after the accident.”

He sought the dismissal of the charges.

But prosecutor Justin Lewis said the Crown’s case was that Mr Voss was responsible for the crash because he “failed to keep a proper lookout”.

Mr Lewis said it would also be argued the man should not have been driving at all because of his heart concerns.

“We have a person driving a B-double filled with fuel, potentially doing it for years when he shouldn’t have been,” he said.

Ms McGarvie said the evidence presented showed Mr Voss did not mention any concerns about his heart to police or paramedics, but did report chest pains almost seven hours later when he was in hospital.

Her decision to send the matter to trial was greeted with emotional cheers from Mr Eales’s family and friends.

A directions hearing will be held next month.

Picture: ALAN BARBER Friends F and family of road accident victim Jackson Eales, inset left, leave court after attending a hearing involving truck driver Gerard Voss at Geelong Magistrates’ Court yesterday.