The defence counsel for the woman charged with causing a fatal crash that killed Bendigo cyclist Jason Lowndes will seek to establish how investigators reached their conclusions.
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Magistrate Michael King on Wednesday granted leave in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court for defence lawyer Jarrod Behan to cross-examine witnesses during a committal hearing in February next year.
Mr Behan’s client Billie Rodda, 21, is charged with dangerous driving causing death, careless driving and using a mobile phone while driving in relation to the fatal collision in Mandurang on the morning of December 22 last year.
Last month the court heard Ms Rodda was driving home from work when her car collided with Mr Lowndes, who was on a training ride, on a bend on Sedgwick Road.
Prosecutor Robyn Harper told the court there were allegedly 11 messages sent from Ms Rodda’s phone and seven received in the half-hour prior to the collision.
She alleged Ms Rodda wrote an unsent message one minute before the crash.
Mr Behan challenged the assertion his client had used her phone so soon before the collision, suggesting the poor signal in the area affected the times of the messages.
The court heard Ms Rodda stopped immediately after the crash and called triple zero.
Passers-by stopped to assist, including off-duty nurses who performed CPR on Mr Lowndes until paramedics arrived.
The 23-year-old was airlifted to a Melbourne hospital, but died in theatre early that afternoon.
The court heard investigators estimated Ms Rodda was most probably driving between 80 and 89 km/h in the 100 km/h zone at the time, and had no drugs or alcohol in her system.
Dr King ruled at that same hearing the matter be determined in a higher court than the Magistrates’ Court.
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