Uber driver guilty of causing drunk Brit passenger’s death after he opened door and jumped out in front of bus
A Sydney magistrate said the Brit ‘made an error of judgment that cost him his life’
AN UBER driver has been convicted over the death of a British passenger, who died after being hit by a bus when he got out of his car in Sydney, Australia.
Samuel Thomas, 30, was halfway out of the vehicle when driver Nazrul Islam, 31, accelerated from traffic lights in the city centre.
The Uber driver had denied responsibility, but was today found guilty of negligent driving occasioning death.
Mr Thomas, of Hertfordshire, left the car while it was stopped at a red light, and was hit by a passing bus at 3.14am on June 17 in 2017.
Islam said he did not hear the car door open at the intersection, and failed to notice the interior light come on before his back-seat passenger stepped out of the car.
At the Downing Centre Local Court, magistrate Mary Ryan said that Islam had not kept a proper watch of his passenger and should have seen the interior light come on when the door opened.
She alluded to evidence from the security camera footage that showed the car was illuminated for six seconds before the car accelerated.
Ms Ryan said: "The light was not dim, the footage shows it was brightly shining."
According to ABC News, she was not convinced that Islam had had enough uninterrupted sleep in the 24 hours before his shift.
The Uber driver had told the court he had slept for seven hours – but this was broken up in chunks between driving jobs.
The magistrate added: "I am not entirely convinced he slept as long as he claims he did. He was not as alert as his two remaining intoxicated passengers.
"The only explanation is that Mr Islam was much more fatigued than he admitted."
At a hearing earlier this year, the court was told Islam had collected Mr Thomas and two mates from a party in Sydney’s inner-west, and they were "significantly affected by alcohol".
One of his two workmates who was in the red Toyota Corolla, Stephen Ronning, told a court in August that the car was stopped at a red light when he heard the left rear door open, and turned from the passenger seat to see Mr Thomas “in the motion of getting out” behind him, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
Mr Ronning said: “I turned across to the other side to notify the driver… and at the point I heard a loud pop as the car moved off.
"Then the car stopped within a second of that, and I hopped out of the car and saw Sam on the road."
In a recorded interview, Islam told the police he accelerated when the light went green, but neither saw nor heard anything until the other two passengers said "hey,hey,hey" loudly.
He told cops: "I hear them, I brake. The bus has already braked," Islam said, adding that he had gone forward “maybe five metres”.
"They opened the door and go out and say ‘oh my god, oh my god’, like that.
"Then I see the dead body and I got a bit shocked, and then I call the police."
The Sydney Morning Herald explained that CCTV from the bus showed Islam’s vehicle stopping on the right side of the bus at the intersection.
Mr Thomas opened a back door before both vehicles accelerate, and he fell into the path of the bus.
At court today, the magistrate said that when the car was five minutes from arriving at its destination, Mr Thomas "left the motor vehicle without a word of warning” and “made an error of judgement that cost him his life".
She found Islam, "guilty of the charge of negligent driving occasioning death beyond a reasonable doubt."
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The Uber driver will be sentenced in January.
After his conviction, Mr Thomas’s sister, Hannah, told reporters: "My brother was sweet and funny and this was his dream to be here.
"We love him and miss him and we just hope that today is some closure for us and for him."
Islam arrived in Australia in early 2013, but only started working as an Uber driver three weeks before the fatality, MailOnline reports.
An Uber spokesperson told ABC News that it had brought in a new safety feature to the app late last year, which meant that its drivers were automatically taken offline from the app for six hours straight, after they had completed 12 hours in one shift.
The spokesperson added: "Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this tragedy.
"While no form of transportation is 100 per cent free of incidents, we are committed to doing our part and promoting the safe use of our app… and working with experts and stakeholders to improve safety."
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