Road rage trial: Tamate Heke says incident turned in 'Fast and the Furious'

Tamate Heke arrives at the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Tuesday with his supporters. Photo / AAP

A New Zealand man on trial over the death of a man after a roadside confrontation was minding his own business when a busy Queensland motorway "turned into a version of The Fast and the Furious", a court has heard.

Tamate Henry Heke is fighting allegations he unlawfully killed Shane Merrigan by punching the 50-year-old before he was fatally hit by a rubbish truck on the Gateway Motorway on December 1, 2015.

He has pleaded not guilty to one count of manslaughter, as well as not guilty to an alternative charge of unlawful striking causing death, in relation to the incident at Eight Mile Plains, a suburb of Brisbane.

Tamate Heke said pulling over to the roadside that day was "probably the biggest mistake" he'd made in his life. Photo / AAP

In his closing remarks on Thursday, defence barrister Anthony Kimmins told the Brisbane Supreme Court that, by his client's account, Merrigan's driving style that afternoon had been "aggressive".

"Whilst minding his own business, the Gateway Motorway ... turned into a version of The Fast and the Furious," he said on Thursday.

The court also heard pulling over to the roadside that day was "probably the biggest mistake" of Heke's life.

The defence barrister described Heke as a hard-working father of three who experienced "absolute shock and horror" after Merrigan was fatally struck.

Both charges were very serious and a conviction for either would have "devastating consequences", Kimmins also told the jury.

It came after crown prosecutor Clare Kelly on Wednesday urged jurors to convict Heke and said his blow had felled Merrigan like a tree.

"Tamate Heke killed Shane Merrigan."

Hours after the incident Heke was interviewed by police and told officers Merrigan had "tailgated" him while swearing and making hand gestures, the court has heard.

However Kelly alleged Heke's statement to police included "important and significant lies" suggestive of a consciousness of guilt.

The trial continues.