A bus driver told police he swerved to miss a kangaroo before his vehicle left the road and rolled over, causing the deaths of two people near Avoca in 2017.
The bus was returning to Ballarat from a bowls tournament in Mildura on October 14 when the crash occurred on the Sunraysia Highway.
Creswick woman Carmel Mitchell, 71, and Beaufort woman Ethel Glenister, 87, were killed.
Lionel Calf was charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death, six counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury and one count of careless driving.
The 70-year-old was on Wednesday committed to stand trial at the County Court in Ballarat following a committal hearing.
Detective Leading Senior Constable Samuel Goode told the Ballarat Magistrates Court he and another police officer were the first on the scene.
He agreed with defence barrister Warwick Walsh-Buckley, Calf said to him and a number of passengers, "a kangaroo jumped in front of me and I swerved to miss it".
Victoria Police collision reconstruction unit's Jenelle Mehegan told the court there was no evidence to suggest an animal caused the crash.
She said as the bus travelled along the bitumen and reached the gravel the tyres were rolling.
Dr Mehegan said if an animal came from the driver's right you would expect the steering input from the left, and if an animal come from the driver's left, steering input would be from the right.
"Yes, 97 per cent of drivers will respond in an avoidance manoeuvre," Dr Mehegan said.
She said the only evidence of the crash was the rolling tyre marks.
The bus was travelling at 97km/h with 29 passengers on board.
Four witnesses gave evidence during the hearing before magistrate Jonathan Klestadt decided the case should go before a jury.
He committed Calf to stand trial following a direction's hearing in Ballarat at the end of March.
The Sebastopol man was placed on trial bail with the conditions he live at a static address, not to contact witnesses and not to leave Victoria.
Calf continues to work as a bus driver, the court was told, and a colleague was supporting him on Wednesday.
The magistrate refused the defence's submission for a summary jurisdiction application to determine if the case should be heard in the Magistrates Court, rather than a higher court.
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.
