Fred and Gary Whearem were killed in January when their car was allegedly run off the Calder Freeway and crashed head-on with a tree at Glenalbyn, 60 kilometres north-west of Bendigo.

Wedderburn man Shayne Sargent and Violet Town man Jamie McPherson are today facing a committal hearing at Bendigo Magistrates Court charged with manslaughter and culpable driving.

Police also initially charged Rebecca Toner, but Magistrate Richard Wright struck out the seven charges against her after the prosecution asked they be withdrawn.

At the time of the crash the Violet Town woman was in a relationship with McPherson and is an ex-partner of Gary Whearem and the mother of his two children. 

The court heard the prosecution would allege two cars, driven by McPherson and Sargent, had worked together to terrorise and intimidate the occupants of the Whearem vehicle by driving dangerously close to it.

Crown Prosecutor Andrew Tinney SC told the court at one point the Whearem car was sandwiched between the two other vehicles, one of which was driving in the wrong lane of the freeway. 

He said Fred Whearem was so frightened, he called triple 0, and told the operator they were trying to run them off the road.

The court heard the Whearem car and McPherson's car collided a short time later sending the brothers' vehicle off the road and into a tree. 

Mr Tinney said there had been a "considerable animosity" between McPherson and the Whearem family which included a series of threats made against them.

The court was later told McPherson's step-daughter Julie had dated both Fred and Gary Whearem, which concerned McPherson due to a significant age gap.

Seven witnesses gave evidence at the hearing, including the Whearem brother John, and a motorist who saw the vehicles driving erratically before the crash.

A former girlfriend of Fred Whearem told the court she knew of threatening phone calls made to Mr Whearem by Rebecca Toner, and said Toner had been in a car that had previously tried to run him over.

A second former partner testified she had heard calls from Toner and McPherson threatening to put a bomb under the house she then shared with Mr Whearem and shoot them.

During evidence about the immediate lead-up to the crash, a motorist told the court he saw three cars driving next to each other at high speed across the two-lane freeway for about 20 seconds.

He said the two outside cars, alleged to have been driven by McPherson and Sargent, were straddling the outer lane markings, with McPherson's vehicle in the oncoming traffic lane.

The trial, before Magistrate Richard Wright, continues tomorrow.

UPDATE 2pm: A fatal crash which claimed the lives of two brothers was the culmination of months of threatening messages, a court has heard.

Fred Whearem and his brother Gary were killed in January when their car was allegedly run off the Calder Freeway and crashed head-on with a tree in Glenalbyn, 60 kilometres northwest of Bendigo.

Wedderburn man Shayne Sargent and Violet Town man Jamie McPherson are today facing a committal hearing at Bendigo Magistrates Court charged with manslaughter and culpable driving.

Police also initially charged Rebecca Toner, but Magistrate Richard Wright struck out the seven charges against her after the prosecution asked they be withdrawn.

At the time of the crash the Violet Town woman was in a relationship with McPherson and is an ex-partner of Gary Whearem and the mother of his two children. 

The court heard the prosecution would allege two cars, driven by McPherson and Sargent, worked together to terrorise and intimidate the occupants of the Whearems' vehicle during a drive from Wedderburn to Bendigo by driving dangerously close to it.

Prosecutor Andrew Tinney SC told the court at one point the Whearems' car was sandwiched between the two other vehicles, one of which was driving in the wrong lane of the freeway. 

He said Fred Whearem was so frightened, he called triple 0, and told the operator they were trying to run them off the road.

The court heard the Whearems' car and McPherson's car collided a short time later sending the brothers' vehicle off the road and into a tree. 

Mr Tinney said there had been a "considerable animosity" between McPherson and the Whearem family which included a series of threats made against them.

The court was later told McPherson's step-daughter Julie had dated both Fred and Gary Whearem, which concerned McPherson due to a significant age gap.

A former girlfriend of Fred Whearem told the court she knew of threatening phone calls made to Mr Whearem by Rebecca Toner, and said Toner had been in a car that had previously tried to run him over while he was walking to a supermarket. 

A second former partner testified she had heard calls from Toner and McPherson threatening to put a bomb under the house she then shared with Mr Whearem and shoot them.

More to come. 

UPDATE 11.10am:  Magistrate Richard Wright has struck out all charges against Rebecca Toner. 

EARLIER: A COMMITTAL hearing for three people charged over the death of two brothers in a crash on Calder Freeway in Glenalbyn in January has started in Bendigo Magistrates Court.

Violet Town's Jamie McPherson and Rebecca Toner, and Wedderburn man Shayne Sargent are facing manslaughter and culpable driving charges following the January 4 crash which claimed the lives of Fred and Gary Whearem.

More to come.