AN army officer speeding at 90mph on a wet road in his Audi smashed head-first into an oncoming car and van, killing a passenger, a court heard.

Major Richard Scott, 40, stands accused of causing the death of builder Gareth Hicks by careless driving, after allegedly losing control at between 84 and 95mph on the 60mph road and swerving into the wrong lane.

He denies the charges, and claims the crash took place on his side of the road, Salisbury Crown Court heard on Monday.

The accident happened on the B390 between Chitterne and Shrewton on October 6, 2014.

Mr Hicks, from Bath, Somerset, was asleep in the van at 7.15 as he and his three colleagues travelled to work in Salisbury on a cold, wet and windy Monday morning.

Prosecuting, Charles Gabb said: "Tragically, he never woke up because he never made it to work.

"He never effectively regained consciousness and died from his injuries at 11.55am on Monday evening."

He said Mr Hicks did "not appear to have known much about what happened".

The court heard the Ford Transit, driven by Patrick Gilleece, was heading east towards Tidworth behind another van and a black BMW, driven by Gunner Craig Reed of the Royal Artillery.

Mr Gabb said it had been raining hard, and there was "quite a lot of surface water on the road", which "may well have played a part in this accident."

As he approached a right-hand bend, Gunner Reed saw an oncoming car, driven by Major Scott, "twitchy in its movements" and possibly aquaplaning, before it allegedly veered 1.7 metres onto the wrong side of the road.

Gunner Reed tried to avoid Major Scott's car, but was unable to get off the road quickly enough, the court heard.

Major Scott's Audi smashed into the BMW, tearing its front wheel clean off, before Gunner Reed "desperately tried to recover control of his car", and managed to stop on the verge.

Major Scott's Audi then allegedly bounced back into the correct lane and mounted the verge, before ploughing back into the wrong lane, and head-on into the Transit in which Mr Hicks was a back-seat passenger, wearing a seatbelt.

The jury was shown pictures the wreckage, which Mr Gabb described as "the dreadful aftermath", and "a scene of carnage".

He said Mr Hicks was "effectively out if it" when paramedics found him and realised "there was something seriously wrong".

He died at Southampton General Hospital just before midnight night.

The court heard Major Scott suffered a brain injury in the crash and had been too ill to be interviewed until December 2014, when he told police he had no memory of the accident.

Major Scott, of Green Lane, Shepperton, Surrey, did not accept he was driving without due care and attention, and claimed Gunner Reed was in fact on the wrong side of the road.

"The battle lines are drawn," said Mr Gabb.

"Both sides can't be right."

The trial continues.