A trial has started for a bus driver accused of causing the deaths of two passengers and seriously injuring six in a tragic crash near Avoca.
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The names and ages of the bus crash victims, including the injuries of the survivors, were read aloud in the County Court at Ballarat on Wednesday.
Sebastopol's Lionel Calf sat with his hands clasped in the dock, charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death and six counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury.
The 70-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the charges relating to the crash on the Sunraysia Highway just after 3pm on October 14, 2017.
The bus was returning to the Ballarat area from a bowls tournament in Mildura when the accident occurred, killing Creswick woman Carmel Mitchell, 71, and Beaufort woman Ethel Glenister, 87.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Moore told the 14-person jury the bus started to negotiate a right sweeping bend when it left the road, travelled down an embankment, hit trees and rolled onto its side before coming to a rest.
He said Ms Mitchell died at the scene, while Ms Glenister was airlifted to hospital and died a week later.
Six passengers were seriously injured, with one woman spending eight weeks in a Melbourne hospital with lower leg injuries. One passenger was injured but conscious, and phoned triple-0.
The jury was told the injuries the passengers received included a ruptured spleen, broken ribs, significant bruising and a broken ankle.
Mr Moore said the six passengers who were injured in the crash would give evidence during the trial, along with a collision reconstructionist, who he said would be an important witness.
"There will be evidence in this case it was the accused who mentioned to some people a kangaroo but the passengers don't observe this. (The collision reconstructionist) said there were no tyre marks. She concludes there was no evidence (the bus) was out of control," Mr Moore said.
"The issue here is whether the prosecution can prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused's driving caused the deaths ... and serious injuries ... and whether his driving has been established beyond reasonable doubt to be dangerous."
Mr Moore told the jury the case was distressing and they should assess all of the evidence objectively.
In response, defence lawyer Tony Danos reiterated to the jury to be objective, keep an open mind and to take bias or sympathy out of their thinking. He said it was a tragic and painful event for all of the families involved.
Mr Danos said there was no issue with the unfortunate deaths or terrible injuries, but there was an issue with the aspect of the comments Calf made after the crash, the circumstances in which they were made and how much relevance should be placed on them.
The jury was told Calf spoke to various passengers, passers-by and authorities about what had happened.
His comments included, 'Did we do a tyre', 'I think something crossed the road although it happened so quickly I don't know. Something changed in front of me and I swerved', 'I was coming around the bend and I saw a kangaroo' and 'I must have swerved from a kangaroo'.
"The real issue, the important aspect, is the question of the driving on this occasion. Why the bus may have got off the road and when it went off the road? Was there any opportunity to correct it?"
"Whether this amounts to dangerous driving or whether it's an unfortunate tragic accident that occurred."
The trial, in front of Judge Wendy Wilmoth, will continue on Thursday when the jury will attend bus crash scene.
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