Mohammad Farhad, 51, allegedly drove into the woman as she tried to cross a road at Crows Nest, in Sydney's north, around 11am on Tuesday morning.
Police allege he didn't stop and the woman died at the scene, just metres away from North Sydney Girls High School.
Court documents reportedly alleged Mr Farhad took two more fares on Tuesday afternoon before being called back to base.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Dr Farhad admitted being in the collision, according to court papers, but said he was 'confused and traumatised', handing himself to police after media appeals.
The victim was named in court documents as Suzzanne King.
Farhad, who lectures part-time at the University of Western Sydney, was arrested in Alexandria on Tuesday night.
He was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, failing to stop and assist after a vehicle impact causing death, and negligent driving occasioning death.
In applying for bail on Wednesday his lawyer Luke Brasch said he didn't try to avoid police, had strong community ties and needed to be out of custody to support his family.
Central Local Court heard there were concerns he would fail to appear and endanger the safety of the community if released from custody.
Magistrate Les Mabbutt, however, found that despite a strong prosecution case which includes CCTV footage, these concerns could be offset by the imposition of conditions.
These included reporting daily to police and not driving a taxi.
A $10,000 surety must also be posted, and Farhad must surrender his passport and stay away from airports.
His matter will next be mentioned at Downing Centre Local Court on October 13.
Heartbreaking photographs emerged from the scene of a shopping pram, along with her walking stick and shoe scattered nearby the woman's body.
http://goo.gl/A4hZYy
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EIRE
TAXI drivers across the country could do worse than follow the example of their Kilkenny colleagues in helping to combat the wave of suicide currently sweeping Ireland.
An inquest in Mallow into a shocking case of suicide heard yesterday how nine-year-old twins were stabbed over 40 times by their 21-year-old brother, who was suffering from a serious psychiatric illness, and then took his own life. His mother urged people with depression to seek help.
Aptly called ‘Taxi Watch’, the Kilkenny initiative keeps an alert eye on the city’s bridges and streets in the hope of spotting anyone thinking of taking their own lives and, talking them round with the aim of changing their mind.
Significantly, taxi drivers are trained by the HSE in recognising potential suicides and so far, 15 drivers trained in suicide alertness have helped 47 people since last November. For playing such a compassionate role within the community they depend on to make a living, the taxi drivers deserve to be applauded and their fundraising efforts to establish a dedicated drop-in centre ought to be generously supported.
http://goo.gl/uRC090
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A Skelmersdale taxi driver stopped an elderly woman from handing over her life savings to cowboy builders.
Mike Heyes, 47, picked the pensioner up from Ormskirk station after she had been to the bank to collect more cash for the fake tradesman.
She appeared incredibly distressed and after talking to her the married father-of-one suspected she may be being scammed.
Mike said: “She was a lovely old woman and she seemed very flustered and panicked. She said she needed to get back to pay the builders who were doing some work on her roof.
“We started chatting about the work she was having done and she said that the builders had dropped her off at the bank for her to get more money, even though she had already given them a substantial amount.
“She said they had come round and told her she needed to have urgent work on her roof, even though she was unaware of any problems.
“Alarm bells started ringing in my head and I told her I thought she was being scammed.
“I told her to call the police, but she refused and said she didn’t want any fuss.
“She said she hadn’t told her children as she hadn’t wanted to bother them, but I just couldn’t leave her to lose her life savings.”
When they arrived at the house the bogus builders were nowhere to be seen, but not wanting to leave the woman on her own Mike phoned the police and used his car to block the entrance to the road to stop the conmen returning.
Mike said: “I eventually left, but the police were great and said I was right to ring.
“They called me back later in the day and said they had spoken to the woman and discovered she was being conned.
“I just did what 99% of the population would have done I’m no hero.
“I’m just glad she didn’t give them anymore cash. It’s awful to think there’s people out there that do this to the elderly, I just thought of my mum.”
Mike, who has just started his own taxi firm The Big Cab Company, was shocked to find he had become a viral sensation after Skelmersdale police posted details of his endeavour on their facebook page.
He said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw it on Facebook and the story online. I just wanted to do what was right.”
A spokesperson said: “Police attended the ladies address before the bogus builders could collect the money from her.
“Crime prevention advice was given and the lady is now aware of such scams.
“Thank you that man! #goodsamaritan.”
http://goo.gl/g4u86K
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