A Bangladeshi Uber driver has been found guilty in the death of a passenger in Australia.
On Monday (Nov 27), a Sydney court convicted Nazrul Islam, whose passenger died when he got out of the car and was hit by a bus in Sydney's CBD has been found guilty of negligent driving occasioning death, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
The passenger, 30-year-old Samuel Thomas, died when he fell from the Uber and was hit by a bus in June last year.
Islam, 32, pleaded not guilty to negligent driving causing death, but a magistrate ruled that he had not kept "a proper lookout" as Thomas exited.
"Mr Islam did not exercise the reasonable care that a driver must exercise," the court said.
Islam had argued that he did not notice his passenger's attempts to exit.
The court heard that Thomas and two friends were intoxicated as they travelled home in the Uber from a house party.
They were about five minutes from their destination when Thomas, who was in the back seat, opened a rear door and began to get out.
Security footage showed the car's internal light was illuminated for six seconds before Islam began to accelerate, causing Thomas to fall.
The court noted that Thomas had opened the door "without a word of warning", but said: "Six seconds of light within the car is a significant warning.
"The only explanation is that Mr Islam was much more fatigued than he admitted."