Wangaratta South CFA captain Garry Nash yesterday told the Supreme Court at Wangaratta he arrived at the Adams Track site, near Glenrowan, about 9.15pm on April 28, 2005, to find the utility engulfed in flames.

He said the intensity of the heat was so hot you could not get near the vehicle and about 4m of bush was on fire next to one side of the car.

It wasn’t until the fire had been doused that the Glenrowan man’s body was found in the driver’s seat.

“There did not appear to be any skid marks at all,” Mr Nash told the jury.

He said once the flames were out he noticed “very little” impact to the vehicle and no damage to the tree as a result of the crash.

Mr Nash was giving evidence on the first day of Margaret Vandergulik’s murder trial.

She is accused of killing Mr Plumbe two days after they married.

Vandergulik’s barrister, Ian Hill, QC, asked Mr Nash if a search had been conducted of the crash site and whether items such as fire lighters or a petrol can had been found.

Mr Nash said no such items were discovered.