A garbage truck driver accused of hitting and killing a Ballarat grandmother has returned to court.
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Jonathan Wilson, 46, faced charges in the County Court of dangerous driving causing death, failing to give way to a pedestrian and dangerous and careless driving relating to a fatality on Doveton Street South on April 16 last year.
Friday's proceedings largely centred around questioning the psychologist treating Wilson on his diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mental state after the crash.
The court heard his mental health was "generally terrible" and he had expressed "deep remorse".
"[Wilson] without a doubt has shown incredible remorse," the psychologist said.
"It's difficult to do those sessions personally because there's so much crying going on ... especially when he talks about the family ... there's a deep sense of sympathy and remorse.
"When I've heard [Wilson] get most upset it's always been talking about the family."
The prosecution questioned the psychologist if Wilson was truly remorseful over a comment in a session where he said, 'hitting a woman with my truck, that's what I'm told, I'm not sure if I did'.
The psychologist said Wilson was aware that he was the driver but he interpreted the statement as Wilson trying to explain that he did not see the woman.
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The court heard Wilson was diagnosed with PTSD in his fifth session with the psychologist, who had treated him since May last year, and had also received diagnoses of major depression and anxiety.
"[His initial presentation was] very anxious early on ... he was reporting blacking out, dissociating, having broken sleep, flashbacks," the psychologist said.
"Not of the particular incident but the surrounding, you know, hearing sirens, police ... seeing the body, things like that."
Wilson's psychologist said his 'simple' PTSD could develop into a complex PTSD in a prison environment and he would not be able to receive all aspects of appropriate treatment in prison, including exposure therapy.
Defence for Wilson told the court the case met the rare and exceptional circumstances test given his mental state and lowered moral culpability, meaning the court should "depart" from the usual sentence of jail time for such a serious offence.
"Where you put this on the scale of moral culpability ... because of the absence of fatigue, alcohol, distraction ... there is none of the classic circumstances you would have seen that account for the error," the defence said.
"All of us are subject to human frailty ... and sometimes you have a tragic outcome."
But the prosecution said the rare and exceptional test was not met because the PTSD was "reactive" and happened after the crash.
The matter will return to court for a sentence indication on August 19.
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