The truck driver involved in a crash that killed Warrawong man Daniel Merrett two years ago has given evidence that the collision "happened within the blink of an eye".
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Darren Butler and Andrew Douglas Russell are standing trial in Wollongong District Court for the manslaughter of Mr Merrett, accused of causing the fatal collision by engaging in a high-speed chase in a manner that amounted to intimidation or stalking.
They have pleaded not guilty.
On Friday the jury heard Gary James started work shortly after 2am on May 18, 2019 and was due to drive a fuel tanker to Sydney.
Mr James told the court he left his employer's depot in Creole Road, Albion Park Rail and proceeded to the intersection with the Princes Highway, where he was to turn right.
The court heard he stopped and looked to his right, where he saw two cars near the roundabout.
He said he then looked to his left and saw a white van heading northbound, which was closer to him than the two cars.
Mr James told the jury he waited for the van to pass and looked to see whether the two cars were far enough away for him to pull out and saw them near an Oporto restaurant, which he said was about 350 to 400 metres away.
He said he moved into the intersection and had made it almost the entire way across when he checked his right side to make sure he had cleared the median strip.
"As soon as I looked out my window there were headlights right there," Mr James said, "There was nothing I could've done".
The Ford Territory in which Mr Merrett was travelling struck the rear of the truck.
When asked the time between when he started to move into the intersection and the crash, Mr James said: "Ten, five seconds. It happened within the blink of an eye".
"I thought the truck was going to roll over," he said.
He said he had "no idea" where the second vehicle went.
The court heard Mr James had held a truck licence for about eight years, and had worked from the Creole Road depot for up to six years at the time of the crash.
When questioned by Butler's defence counsel Bernadette O'Reilly, Mr James said he was not able tell if the oncoming cars were speeding, given it was nighttime.
He refuted Ms O'Reilly's suggestions that he did not look to his right before entering the intersection.
Russell's lawyer, Winston Terracini, asked Mr James if he saw any signs of braking on the road after the crash, to which he said no and it was the "last thing" he was looking for.
Beth Donnelly, the paramedic who attended to Thomas Johnson, a passenger in the car Mr Merrett was travelling in, was also called to give evidence.
In her statement to police, she said she had asked Mr Johnson what happened, to which he replied "something along the lines of, 'These standover people were chasing us and shooting at us in the car'".
Ms O'Reilly questioned her on the absence of this conversation from her patient notes from the night.
In re-examination, she said she did not recall anyone talking at the scene about shots being fired, and Mr Johnson told her that in the ambulance on the way to hospital.
The court heard from Leading Senior Constable James Hale, one of the first officers on the scene.
In his statement he said that Mr James had told him that the vehicle "must have been going really fast".
The trial continues.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
