Man to stand trial over fatal SA crash

A man will stand trial for murder over a car crash that claimed two lives and left two other people seriously injured.

In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday, Michael Frank Knowles pleaded not guilty to murdering James Moore and Natasha Turnbull, both 24.

Police allege Knowles, 37, deliberately drove his car into the path of another vehicle on the Lincoln Highway near Whyalla in December last year, causing the deaths.

He was originally charged with two counts of manslaughter, but the charges were upgraded in July after further investigations.

Mr Moore, a palaeontology researcher at Flinders University, had been in the area looking for camping sites for an upcoming archaeological dig and his friends had joined him for the ride.

Knowles was committed for trial and will appear in the Supreme Court on October 12.