A former Victorian nurse has sobbed in the dock as she was convicted of fatally hitting a cyclist and fleeing the scene. Stephanie Maher, 33, was seen drifting on the Nepean Highway before her car struck Julian Paul, 54, on November 26, 2013. Mr Paul had been cycling home to Brighton East after working in the city, when Maher struck him a few hours after going out to dinner with her young son. The engineer died about three weeks later after his life support was turned off. At her trial, Maher’s barrister Leighton Gwynn said his client accepted she was driving when her car struck Mr Paul, but denied knowing that a person had been hit. She told police she thought a rock had flicked up and hit her car, the trial heard. But a County Court jury on Tuesday found Maher guilty of culpable driving causing death, failing to stop and failing to render assistance. Maher sobbed in the dock with her head in her hands before being remanded in custody until a plea hearing on June 21.
