Scotney John Duncomb, 37, of King Street, has pleaded not guilty in the Warrnambool County Court to culpable driving and dangerous driving causing death.

Ellis Arnott, 80, of Mortlake, died in the collision on July 10, 2013, near Noorat.

In a tape-recorded interview with police played to a jury yesterday, Mr Duncomb said he took drugs the night before the collision.

He said he had a cone of cannabis using a bong and snorted a line of ice (crystal methamphetamine). Mr Duncomb recorded high readings for ice and speed after the crash.

He told police he used ice most days: “I’ve never denied it, never hidden it”.

Mr Duncomb said he crushed up the ice and usually either snorted it or smoked it in a pipe. He said he used .1 of a gram of ice for which he paid $100, about 8.30pm the previous night.

The accused said he did not use alcohol, that cannabis relaxed him and ice gave him energy, but the amount of energy depended on the purity of the ice.

Mr Duncomb said he woke up the next morning feeling fine. “The whole thing is like a dream, just a blur,” he said.

“It just happened that quick. I was 100 per cent before the crash. I looked up and the van filled the windscreen and bang. I went to help the bloke. He was not good. He was dead.”

Mr Duncomb said paint cans on the front seat fell onto the floor and distracted him just before impact.

He said after the crash he collapsed and sat down on the side of the road after trying to provide assistance to Mr Arnott. He said he suffered broken ribs and bruises to his knees.

“It was just that f...ing quick. It’s a straight road. There was nothing to stop me seeing the van. I don’t know what lane I was in. He was right in front of me. It was just a lapse in concentration,” he said.

Mr Duncomb denied his drug use had any influence on his driving.

He said something had fallen from the front seat, he leaned across and down, took his eyes off the road and most have pulled the steering wheel to the right. “I f...ed up”, he said. “It was an accident”.

Victoria police major collision investigation unit reconstruction expert Senior Constable Jenelle Mehegan said that at the time of the collision Mr Duncomb’s vehicle was most likely entirely on the wrong side of the road and Mr Arnott’s van was to the left side of his lane.