Nullaware store owner/operator Ashley Raymond McDowall, 69, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing death after a crash on the Timboon-Nullawarre Road on September 28, 2013, in which a 46-year-old Timboon woman died.

The incident involved a Ford sedan heading east and a van travelling west just after 3pm on AFL grand final afternoon.

Mr McDowall said his van was blown on to the wrong side of the road by a gust of wind just before the crash.

Carlene Walker, who was driving in front of the Ford sedan, told Warrnambool Magistrates Court she saw a white van on the wrong side of the road heading towards her. 

She said she slammed on her brakes and then accelerated, noticing the car behind her was “right up my clacker”.

She swerved to the left to avoid the van. 

“I thought he was going to hit the back of my car,” she said.

Ms Walker said the van just kept drifting towards her, then heard a bang and saw the collision in her rear-view mirror. 

She stopped to try to help the woman trapped in her car and looked at Mr McDowall, noting that he was an older man and that he might have “had a turn” or was about to.

“I took my jacket off and put it around him,” she said.

The passenger in Ms Walker’s car,  Mary Belshaw, said she was angry at the scene because she knew the victim and watched her “die in my arms”.

She said that before the crash she felt Ms Walker touch the vehicle’s brakes, looked up and saw a van with its front wheel in the gravel on the wrong side of the road. 

“Charlie (Carlene) yelled ‘hang on’, planted the foot and we hoped for the best,” she said.

“We were actually airborne, it felt that way. It happened in milliseconds. I thought we were hit when we heard the bang.

“I braced myself and said: ‘God, I’m not ready to die yet’. I knew we were in trouble. I thought we were a goner.”

Senior Constable Robert Hay, of the Victoria Police major collision investigation unit, said Mr McDowall’s  reaction time of about two seconds was above 85 per cent of the population.

Under cross-examination by barrister Hilary Bonney, the policeman agreed his calculations did not take into account wind conditions.

Ms Bonney said the closest wind records for the day were from the Warrnambool airport, about 50km from the accident scene, but they showed it was a very windy day with 37km/h winds and gusts up to 50km/h.

Magistrate Peter Mellas said there were a number of questions to be determined by a jury. Mr McDowall was committed to stand trial in the Warrnambool County Court. A directions hearing will be held on April 17.