Taxi Driver Online

A taxi driver killed a Tyneside teenager when he drove off with his cab door open, a court has heard.
Aaron Todd, 18, from Jarrow, died when Paul Stephenson sped off after the teenager's friends, who he thought were evading an £8.40 fare last March.
But Newcastle Crown Court heard Mr Todd was still in the black cab and its sliding doors were open.
Mr Stephenson, 60, of St Hilda Street, South Shields, denies causing death by dangerous driving.
The court was told the teenager was with four friends in the taxi driver's Fiat Scudo, which stopped on Hedworth Lane in Jarrow to allow one of them to be sick.
Obscured view
All but the teenager, of Kirkstone Avenue, Jarrow, got out of the cab, leading Mr Stephenson to believe they were attempting to "do a runner" and evade the fare, the jury heard.
But when the cab accelerated, Mr Todd fell out and suffered fatal head injuries, dying in hospital six days later.
Prosecutor Peter Gair told the jury Stephenson's view of the rear of his car was obscured by pillars separating the driver's and passenger areas.
But he said that as a taxi driver with more than 30 years experience, he should have made sure his cab was empty before driving away.
The teenager's friend Daniel Smith, 19, said the group had been drinking in South Shields before they were picked up.
They asked to be driven to a pub, but told Mr Stephenson to stop the cab when one of their group felt sick.
Mr Smith said he was standing with one foot on the kerb and one in the taxi when Mr Stephenson suddenly put his foot down, driving off with Mr Todd still on board.
The trial continues.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/8660520.stm

Latest update.

http://www.jarrowandhebburngazette.com/ ... 6278022.jp

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IDFIMH

Found guilty.

From a distance I thought he might get off it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/8665780.stm

N.B. He did get off the right iffy charge.

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IDFIMH

Runners are a royal pain in the backside, but, at the end of the day they're hardly worth the effort of chasing them. Thankfully they're few and far between. I'm sure with hindsight this driver wishes he'd never bothered going after them

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Tyneside death cab driver is spared jail

A taxi driver who killed a passenger after driving off with his cab door open has been spared jail. Paul Stephenson, 61, picked up Aaron Todd and four others from South Tyneside in March 2009, 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. He died in hospital six days later. Stephenson was found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court in May 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 had denied.

Mr Justice Davis, sitting at Teesside Crown Court, sentenced Stephenson to nine months in jail, suspended for 18 months. He will have to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. The judge disqualified him from driving for 18 months, which could finish his taxi-driving career. The judge said sentencing him was "very difficult".

Mr Todd and his four friends got out of Stephenson's Fiat Scudo when he stopped on Hedworth Lane, Jarrow, on 29 March 2009. Stephenson said he believed the friends, who had been out celebrating a birthday, were trying to "do a runner" to avoid paying the £8.40 fare. He claimed he thought the taxi - which has a sliding door - was empty when he set off.

On sentencing, the judge said Stephenson failed to take proper care of his customers and may have acted in anger as well as fear.
'Being boisterous' The judge said Mr Todd jumped from the vehicle as it moved off. He said: "That's what drunk young men do, they sometimes do reckless things." "You as an experienced driver should have known that and should have guarded against it."

The judge stressed that he believed Mr Todd's friends had no aggressive intent, saying: "They were being boisterous, no more than that." Mr Justice Davis expressed concern that the defendant apparently lacked remorse and gave the impression throughout the trial that he did not understand why he had been prosecuted.

Christopher Knox, defending, said it was a "momentary misjudgement". He said: "It was a short period of time in which he made a decision which was wrong, and there was a tragic consequence."

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IDFIMH