Source:BBC News
A taxi driver has been convicted of causing the death of a passenger after driving off with his cab door open.
Paul Stephenson, 61, picked up Aaron Todd and four others from South Tyneside in March last year, and pulled over to allow one of them to be sick.
He sped off, and 18-year-old Mr Todd was injured when he fell or jumped out.
Stephenson, who told Newcastle Crown Court he feared the group were trying to avoid paying, was found guilty of causing death by careless driving.
The jury was instructed to clear him of the more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving, which he denied.
The five friends got out of Stephenson’s Fiat Scudo when he stopped on Hedworth Lane, Jarrow, on 29 March.
Stephenson said the group, who had been celebrating a birthday, had told him he was not going to get paid.
When he sped away, he claimed he thought the taxi – which has a sliding door – was empty.
Mr Todd, from Jarrow, died in hospital six days later from serious head wounds.
Mr Justice Davis granted bail for the defendant but warned that did not mean he would definitely avoid prison.
He said: “I am keeping my options open on this one.”
Stephenson, of St Hilda Street in South Shields, will be sentenced later this month.
An interim driving ban was ordered ahead of the hearing.
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