Mackie and his two passengers, which included Matthew Pettigrew, 53, decided to drive down to the local creek to check for eels using the off-road vehicle.
On their way back home, Mackie decided to take a small detour and drove along the rail tracks, and as his vehicle neared the end of the rail bridge, a train came around the bend.
Mackie tried to manipulate his vehicle off the tracks and down a bank to the left, when Pettigrew leapt from the off-roader, but he was fatally struck by the oncoming train.
The train also collided with the Polaris vehicle, which caused it to spin around and fall back down the side of the railway tracks.
Mackie and his other passenger were not injured by the impact, while Pettigrew died as result of injuries he suffered after being hit by the train.
Mackie's lawyer Bill Nabney asked Judge Gregory Hollister-Jones to allow his client to continue to drive to enable him to get his affairs in order.
Judge Hollister-Jones, who remanded Mackie on bail pending sentencing on November 14, agreed to allow him to drive but said that was subject to a zero-alcohol driving ban.
The judge told Mackie that he was prepared to call for electronic-monitoring options along with the pre-sentence report, but that was on a "no-promises" basis, he said.
