Gerard Voss in car accident he “couldn’t remember” before crash that killed Jackson Eales

A truck driver who ran through a Corio intersection and killed a Geelong man was involved in another accident just a year earlier, an inquiry into the death was told.

Gerard Voss (left) and Jackson Eales.

A truck driver who fatally collided with a young Geelong man more than six years ago has a history of concerning driving, a sleep expert told an inquiry into the devastating death.

Over a year before Gerard Voss, 68, ran through a Corio intersection in his fuel tanker and hit 27-year-old scaffolder Jackson Eales, his general practitioner referred him to the emergency department to treat memory loss after a “motor vehicle accident”.

The Coroners Court of Victoria on Monday heard the general practitioner wanted Mr Voss to undergo a CT scan after he was told by his patient’s wife that he could not remember the accident.

The court has been examining the possible reasons Mr Voss ran through the Broderick Rd intersection on Boxing Day 2016 and hit Mr Eales, including both medical and non-medical possibilities.

Mr Voss has always maintained he blacked out in the moments before the crash, and doctors later discovered he had a heart attack.

Jackson Eales died at the scene of a crash in Corio on Boxing Day when the ute he was driving collided with a truck.

However, it was unable to be determined if this heart attack occurred before or after Mr Voss ran through the intersection.

In his evidence, sleep expert Dr Liam Hannan from the Epworth Internal Medical Clinical Institute said he was “convinced” obstructive sleep apnoea was the “underlying cause” of the crash.

As part of his treatment of Mr Voss in the years after the crash, Dr Hannan said he was told by the older man’s wife about the motor vehicle accident prior to the 2016 Boxing Day crash and about two incidents of Mr Voss veering out of the lane after Mr Eales was killed.

Truck driver Gerard Voss leaves Geelong Magistrates' Court. Picture: Alan Barber

Following the crash, Mr Voss pleaded not guilty to charges of culpable or dangerous driving causing death and serious injury, negligently causing serious injury and failing to stop at a stop sign.

However, in 2019, a County Court judge placed a permanent stay on the criminal proceedings after finding a jury would be unable to exclude the possibility Mr Voss succumbed to the sleep disorder.

The Coroners Court is now examining how Mr Voss may have met requirements for holding a heavy vehicle licence and whether VicRoads and WorkSafe have changed the way they consider and grant medical certificates since the crash.

Speaking to the Geelong Advertiser in December 2022, Mr Eales’ mother, Gerardine Eales, said she was looking forward to an inquiry into her son’s death to protect other families from the same fate.

“There will be no wins in this, because whatever happens Jack’s dead,” Ms Gerardine said.

“But we want a voice, a voice for Jack.”

The inquiry continues.

Originally published as Gerard Voss in car accident he “couldn’t remember” before crash that killed Jackson Eales