A bin lorry driver who struck and killed a young boy cycling to school after failing to keep a proper lookout and take care of any vulnerable road users has been sentenced to unpaid community work and banned from driving for a year.

Ross Wallace, 29, from Prestonpans, East Lothian, was at the wheel of a Scania refuse truck when he collided with 11-year-old Thomas Wong at the exit of the Royal Burgess Golfing Society car park in March last year. Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Wallace admitted causing death by driving without due care and attention, the Daily Record reports. The charge also stated he failed to keep proper observations and had used his mobile phone repeatedly while reversing the vehicle earlier in the day.

CCTV footage of the incident was shown in court. One clip from inside the cab recorded Wallace being alerted by colleagues to stop, while another showed Thomas cycling across the car park exit as the HGV pulled out.

Sheriff Alistair Noble said Wallace had caused the “tragic death” of Thomas Wong by failing to look to his left as he exited, noting that visibility on that side was restricted by foliage.

The sheriff said: “It is clear Thomas was a much-loved child and his death has had a devastating impact on the family,” referring to seven victim impact statements submitted by relatives.

Wallace was sentenced to 133 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

The Royal Burgess Golfing Society car park, Whitehouse Road, Edinburgh
The Royal Burgess Golfing Society car park, Whitehouse Road, Edinburgh (Image Credit: Google Street View)

Prosecutor Anna Robertson told the court that Thomas had been cycling on the pavement on Whitehouse Road on his way to school around 8.30am when he reached the car park exit. “The accused failed to make proper observations to his left and failed to account for any vulnerable road users crossing the junction and footpath,” she said.

Ms Robertson said dashcam footage from the HGV showed Wallace “looking around the car park as he proceeded to exit” but continuously looking to his right as he moved forward.

“Having heard a noise, the accused was initially unaware that he had struck Thomas. He stopped the vehicle and discovered the deceased on the roadway,” she said.

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The fiscal depute told the court that CCTV analysis confirmed he had slowed the lorry to 7.5mph immediately prior to the collision, but Wallace did not react to Thomas’s presence. A police investigation found the driver had failed to carry out proper checks for vulnerable road users, while Thomas himself had “failed to carry out sufficient observations” before crossing.

Thomas Wong
Thomas Wong (Image Credit: Police Scotland)

Internal footage also showed Wallace “using his mobile phone on numerous occasions” over the three hours before the crash, including while reversing the HGV. The court heard, however, that this use of the phone “had no bearing on the collision”.

Defence advocate Emma Toner said Wallace, a father of four, had shown “very clear remorse” and accepted responsibility. “If he could turn back the clock, he would, of course, but that cannot be done,” she told the court.

In February, the parents of eight-year-old André Castro Ladeiro voiced their anger after a driver who killed their son in Cork received a two-year jail term, with one year suspended. André was struck by a motorist driving a Ford Ranger pick-up while crossing at a green pedestrian light during a family bike ride in August 2023.

His parents César and Filipa said: “Every day has been a challenge between anger, sadness, depression, despair, fear, dark days, disbelief. All those words became part of our life since that driver killed our son. Also, panic attacks, nightmares, sleep deprivation, anxiety, fear, stress.”

They told the court their son had “waited for the green man” and checked “no cars were coming” before John Moynihan “came flying out of nowhere, ignoring his surroundings, disrespecting the red light in a pedestrian crossing and running over our son.”

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André spent five days in hospital before dying from his injuries. His parents said: “It is still impossible for us to believe or accept this. Every day, we wait to see him walk through the door, to give us again the most earthly hug only he could give… But no, the only thing we find is pictures and videos, memories.”

Speaking afterwards, they criticised “the value of my child, killed by dangerous driving, is a two-year sentence,” and called for greater enforcement against dangerous drivers who ignore basic road rules.