An Uber driver charged after his passenger was fatally hit by a bus in Sydney's CBD has told a magistrate his car's GPS showed they were four to five minutes from their destination.
Nazrul Islam has pleaded not guilty to negligent driving occasioning death after Samuel Thomas was run over at the intersection of Elizabeth and Bathurst streets at 3.11am on June 17, 2017.
The 32-year-old testified at his hearing in Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday that neither the victim nor his two friends, Greg Hensman and Stephen Ronning, had asked him to stop the Uber before the light went green.
The trio had been heading home after attending a birthday party in Strathfield.
Under questioning from his barrister Ali Cheema, Islam said he arrived from Bangladesh in early 2013 but only became an Uber driver three weeks before the incident.
Islam had been driving on-and-off since 6am the previous day but had taken breaks and slept.
"I was ready to drive Friday night as long as possible because it would be a busy night," he said through an interpreter.
Islam said he couldn't recall the "exact destination" the three men had requested but "my GPS was advising me still four to five minutes to go".
Mr Hensman earlier gave evidence that he was in the back seat when he heard a door open and turned to see Mr Thomas "stepping out" of the car which was "in the process of moving".
"The car pulls away and then he fell. I just thought he'd fallen over but then we get out and saw what we did," he said.
Mr Thomas, a 30-year-old Englishman, went under the back wheels of the bus and died instantly.
Mr Ronning, who was in the front passenger seat, gave evidence in August that his friend didn't say anything before opening the door.
Islam said he was "shivering" and "nervous" after stopping the car and being confronted with the body of his passenger on the road with an "injured" head.
"I was very scared and I called police immediately," he said.
Under cross-examination from police prosecutor Stuart Coote, Islam said he had not worked as a professional driver before he started with Uber in late May 2017.
The hearing continues before magistrate Mary Ryan.
Australian Associated Press
