A man who was driving a bin lorry that struck and killed 11-year-old Thomas Wong as he cycled to school has been sentenced. Ross Wallace, 29, was banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to complete 133 hours of unpaid community work.
The incident occurred on March 1 of last year in Cramond, Edinburgh. Wallace, driving a large refuse truck, hit Thomas as the boy was exiting the Royal Burgess Golfing Society car park. Thomas, a pupil at Cramond Primary School, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Details of the Collision
CCTV footage of the incident was presented during an Edinburgh Sheriff Court hearing. The court heard that Wallace continued driving after the collision but pulled over after his colleagues shouted at him to stop.
Wallace, from Prestonpans, East Lothian, pleaded guilty to causing death by driving without due care and attention. The charge also stated that the driver had failed to keep proper observations and, on “numerous occasions,” used a mobile phone while reversing the vehicle.
However, prosecutor Anna Robertson stated that the use of the mobile phone occurred earlier in the day and “had no bearing on the collision.”
Sheriff Alistair Noble noted that the driver had caused Thomas’s “tragic death” by failing to look to his left as he pulled out of the car park. The judge acknowledged that the view to that side had been “restricted by foliage.”
Family’s Grief and Tributes
The court received seven victim impact statements from Thomas’s family. The judge, Sheriff Noble, said, “It is clear Thomas was a much-loved child and his death has had a devastating impact on the family.”
In a statement released after his death, Thomas’s family paid tribute to their son, saying: “We are utterly heartbroken. Thomas was the perfect son. He was the best little brother to his older sister and was adored by all his family. We will all miss him terribly.”
Helen Donaldson, the head teacher of Cramond Primary School, described Thomas as a “positive, friendly and curious” boy who was “always smiling.” She added that the school community was “utterly devastated” and that he would be “greatly missed by all of us.”
Wallace’s defence advocate, Emma Toner, told the court that her client, a father of four, had shown “very clear remorse” and “accepts responsibility” for the accident. “If he could turn back the clock he would of course but that cannot be done,” she said.
The court heard that a police investigation found Wallace had failed to “carry out visual checks prior to driving across the driveway where the deceased was cycling.” The report concluded that the driver’s “lack of caution at the car park exit has led to his being unaware of the initial collision with the deceased and to the vehicle continuing its journey southwards, whereby the Scania HGV has driven over the deceased, inflicting fatal injuries.”
