A Cromwell man has denied causing the death of a man through careless driving between Clyde and Alexandra earlier this year.
John Buchan Cole (78) has been charged with operating a vehicle on the Clyde-Alexandra road carelessly and thereby causing injury to or the death of Alan Leslie Weir, on March 13.
No details of the case were read out in the Alexandra District Court on Tuesday, but Judge Michael Turner said Cole had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Judge Turner said Cole did not challenge that he drove carelessly, but instead whether the crash had led to Mr Weir's death.
Counsel for Cole, Kate McHugh, was seeking Mr Weir's medical records from his GP and Dunstan Hospital for consultations and treatment Mr Weir had before March 13, but police prosecutor Sergeant Ian Collin questioned if there was a ''carte blanche'' aspect to the request.
However, Judge Turner said the medical details were critical to both prosecution and defence and ordered the medical records be provided, saying they had been requested by a pathologist.
The case was remanded until February 14 for a further case review.
