A B-double truck driver was on the second of two back-to-back phone calls at the moment his rig slammed into another truck, killing Vincent James Gooden.
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Scott Lindrea uttered "f---" as his red Kenworth rig crossed to the wrong side of Federation Way at Daysdale.
The line to a work colleague then went dead.
Lindrea had been on the call for 91 seconds, immediately preceded by a call that lasted 139 seconds.
"The offender was on this (second) call leading into the collision," a NSW Director of Public Prosecutions set of agreed facts has outlined.
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Lindrea, 36, of Franklin Street in the Bacchus Marsh suburb of Maddingly, has now pleaded guilty to two serious charges laid over the collision that occurred on August 11, 2022, just before 1.11pm.
That came during an appearance before Albury Local Court magistrate Sally McLaughlin, who committed him for sentence in the District Court in Albury on a charge of dangerous driving occasioning death.
A second charge of negligent driving occasioning death will also travel to the District Court, with a sentencing date to be set on November 10.
![Emergency services at the scene of the truck crash on Federation Way, Daysdale, on August 11 that claimed the life of Vincent Gooden. Emergency services at the scene of the truck crash on Federation Way, Daysdale, on August 11 that claimed the life of Vincent Gooden.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/zTpV5j6X6iLmSh5SbcmSaP/0321f6c1-92a7-4b34-a565-b5d3707aa59e.jpg/r0_88_4375_2548_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The court was told Lindrea's B-double trailers were carrying 40 tonnes of grain that afternoon, while Mr Gooden's semi-articulated prime mover was loaded with 20 tonnes of fertiliser.
He had been heading south from Urana, while Mr Gooden, 30, was driving north from Corowa towards Daysdale.
The speed limit for that stretch of road was 100kmh, though on the bend where the collision occurred it was signposted with an advisory for traffic to go at no more than 75kmh.
Lindrea's speed was above 75kmh but below 100kmh.
"As the offender was driving into the left-hand corner he was unable to keep his truck on the left side of the road and veered onto the incorrect side of the road, where he collided with (Mr Gooden's) truck."
Ms McLaughlin heard the collision happened in the north-bound lane and that due to the speed of Lindrea's truck, it travelled "along the full length of the deceased's truck".
![Vincent James Gooden died in the Daysdale crash. Vincent James Gooden died in the Daysdale crash.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/zTpV5j6X6iLmSh5SbcmSaP/f1d60c9e-6c69-473c-a4df-f205468e986b.jpg/r369_173_1894_1297_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"This caused the deceased's truck to go off the road and roll onto the side."
Mr Gooden was killed instantly.
Lindrea's truck, the court was told, came to a rest with one trailer still upright and the second on its right side. The roadway was left covered by grain and fertiliser.
Lindrea suffered critical head injuries and internal bleeding from a lacerated liver and was taken to hospital in Melbourne.
A blood sample could not be taken because of the seriousness of his injuries.
Lindrea's truck left an 8.5-metre skid mark on the road.
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