Vic driver guilty over firefighter death

A Victorian driver has wept after pleading guilty over a crash that killed a firefighter during bushfires in January.

Novak John Selby admitted to dangerous driving causing death over the crash on the Goulburn Valley Highway at Thornton on January 3.

Forest Fire Management Victoria firefighter Mat Kavanagh died in the crash after the passenger side of the truck was hit.

"Guilty, your honour," 46-year-old Selby told Melbourne Magistrates Court before he wiped his eyes and put his head in his hands.

The firefighter was on his way to a different zone after battling blazes in the Big River area when he was killed.

Selby spent three days in hospital after the crash before he was discharged and interviewed over the allegations.

A court was previously told he appeared "genuinely upset" over the crash and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder because of the Black Saturday bushfires.

Selby had been living at Narbethong, near Marysville, when the bushfires ripped through the area.

A pre-sentence hearing will be held in August.