Bin lorry driver who killed boy cycling to school in Edinburgh given unpaid work

A bin lorry driver has been sentenced to 133 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for a year for causing the death of a child.

Ross Wallace, 29, admitted hitting 11-year-old Thomas Wong while driving a refuse truck in Edinburgh in March last year.

Thomas was cycling on the pavement to school when he was struck by the truck at the exit of a golf club in Cramond. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Last month Wallace pled guilty to causing the child’s death by driving without due care and attention.

The court heard that Wallace had used his mobile phone several times while driving the lorry before the crash.

This had occurred earlier in the day and it had no bearing on the collision involving the child.

The court was also shown footage of the incident including a video of Wallace from inside the cab as he drove out of the car park.

By the end of the video, he had heard shouts from colleagues and pulled over.

Another video showed an outside view of the vehicle as Wallace turned left on to the main road.

The sheriff said the sentence took into account the fact that this was Wallace’s first offence and that he was suffering “extreme remorse” over what had happened.

Thomas was a pupil at Cramond Primary School and lived in Edinburgh.

In a statement after his death, his family said they would “miss him terribly”.

They said: “Thomas was the perfect son. He was the best little brother to his older sister and was adored by all his family.”

Helen Donaldson, head teacher of Cramond Primary School, previously said Thomas was “always smiling” and that he was a “positive, friendly and curious” boy.

She said the school community was “utterly devastated” and he would be “greatly missed by all of us”.