The family of a Ballarat grandmother who was killed crossing the road have told a court of the "devastating" impacts of her death.
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Angela Loader, 61, died in hospital after sustaining life-threatening injuries following a collision on Doveton Street South on April 16 last year.
Jonathan Wilson, 46, was driving a garbage truck when he allegedly failed to give way to Ms Loader as he turned onto Eyre Street about 8.35am.
Ms Loader, who was born and grew up in Ballarat, was a block away from her workplace MatchWorks when she was allegedly hit by the garbage truck.
Wilson is charged in the County Court with dangerous driving causing death, failing to give way to a pedestrian and dangerous and careless driving relating to to incident.
He was facing court on Tuesday as the start of a sentence indication hearing and at this stage is still pleading not guilty.
Ms Loader's son told the court that at the time of the incident his mother was focusing on saving for retirement and was looking forward to spending time with her grandchildren.
"The loss of my mum in such a shocking way has been devastating ... the day of her death was the worst day of my life," he said.
"Overall it's a deep sadness that stays with me. I don't think a day will go by where I don't think about Mum. Mum was such an important part of my life."
Ms Loader's older sister reflected on her life and the moments they shared together.
"Angela, my little sister, three years younger than me, I can't remember her arriving into the family - she was just always there," she said.
"I have many happy memories of time spent with Ange, we never argued. She was very helpful with memories, I could say to her, 'do you remember when?' ... and she could say the same to me.
"I miss my little sister Ange every day and I know that I always will."
Her niece told the court she was working at Ballarat Base Hospital in the operating theatre at the time and described how the day unfolded for her.
"As the day went on the updates from doctors were getting worse and worse ... it was then it struck me that my colleagues knew more about Ange's conditions than her loved ones. I felt so powerless," she said.
The woman said when the helicopter that was to take Ms Loader to Melbourne for treatment was turned back as she was deemed too unstable to transport, her experience told her that her aunt would not live.
"It was that point I realised I knew more than the rest of my family about Ange's condition because my experience told me Ange was going to die. The surgery Ange had was probably the most major and urgent the department had seen for a long time," she said.
"As time went by I learned about what theatre she was in and who was there ... and I painted a picture in my mind and a pretty picture it was not.
"When I walk into 'theatre five' it's like I'm transported back to April 16. I wonder if her blood is still on the walls. I wonder if I went into work that day if the outcome would've been different.
"She was the glue that held us all together."
Ms Loader's daughter told the court of the impact to her young children who struggled to understand the death.
"To put into words the impact this has had on my life is hard. I've lost my mum, the person I look up to. Without her I feel lost and broken," she said.
"She's left such a massive hole not just my life by the life of my kids. Wednesdays used to be 'Nange' night ... now every Wednesday there's an emptiness.
"Losing a parent at the careless actions of another person is hard to accept."
Defence for Wilson said the truck driver did not see Ms Loader and he had suffered as a result of the incident.
"This is a case where the grief falls on both sides and that in no way is to diminish the grief felt by the friends and family of Angela Loader," he said.
"But it is also felt by my client ... it's a genuine feeling of sorrow for the terrible outcome, the terrible tragedy that came as a result of his driving."
The defence said it was a case that came down to human fallibility and looking at the available video footage from a nearby business and dashcams it was difficult to understand how Wilson did not see her.
"So often this court deals with offences of this type ... where there are characteristics that can [lead you] to the cause. For example a driver that is fatigued, a driver that is distracted by using their mobile phone ... a driver that is [drunk], a driver that is inexperienced ... a driver that is driving in a manner that is unwise, for example at high speeds ... these are the things that one looks at to understand [an] eventual tragedy," the defence said.
"None of them are present.
"He simply did not see her. It is recognised from time to time the human eye is not a video camera. We get raw data from our eyes and our brain turns it into an image. There's nothing to suggest he failed to look, but he failed to see."
Wilson's defence said the rare and exceptional circumstances test has been met which meant the prospect of a custodial sentence - one of jail time - could be removed.
The judge said he was yet to be convinced.
The matter will return to court in August.
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