A ‘REMORSEFUL’ business analyst who killed a pensioner after his car struck him at a pedestrian crossing has avoided being sent to prison.

Gary Whelan, 46, failed to stop at a red light in the moments before his vehicle collided with William Knox, 87, on January 9, 2020, in Pencaitland.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Whelan, who works for a banking group, had set off for work shortly before the incident.

But after failing to concentrate on the road for a moment, he struck Mr Knox who was knocked to the ground and later died from his injuries.

Whelan, of Bruce Grove, Pencaitland, was charged with causing the death of Mr Knox by driving dangerously, but offered a guilty plea to the lesser offence of causing death by careless driving.

The Crown did not accept the plea but following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in March, Whelan was convicted of the reduced charge of causing death by careless driving.

The jury heard that Whelan failed to stop for the red light and failed to observe Mr Knox while he was going across the road at the crossing.

Today (Wednesday), defence solicitor advocate Iain McSporran KC told judge Lord Beckett that his client was remorseful for his actions.

He told Lord Beckett that his client – who is a first offender – was a “pro-social.. well behaved member of the community”.

He said the incident was caused by a momentary lapse of concentration on Whelan’s part and that the circumstances of the offence meant that he didn’t need to be sent to prison.

Lord Beckett agreed and imposed a community payback order on Whelan, which compels him to perform 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Passing sentence, Lord Beckett said he had read a statement detailing the impact that Mr Knox’s death has had on his family.

He said: “I have read a moving statement prepared by his son. It details how his father was a carer for his wife.

“There’s no sentence I can pass which can value the life lost or mitigate the grief felt by the family of William Knox.”

Addressing Whelan, Lord Beckett said: “The court can only send you to prison if there is no suitable alternative. But in this case there is a suitable alternative and that is a community payback order.

“You will perform 200 hours of unpaid work.”

Following proceedings earlier this year, Lord Beckett imposed an interim driving ban on him and deferred sentencing for reports on his background.

The court heard in agreed evidence that Whelan was the driver of the Honda Civic which struck Mr Knox who died as a consequence of the collision on the A6093 Fordel to Haddington road, near its junction with Lempockwells Road, in Pencaitland.

Whelan identified himself as the driver of the car to police who arrived at the scene and he passed a breath test.

Jurors were shown footage of the collision and the court heard that Mr Knox had pressed the control at the crossing and traffic lights went from green to amber and to red for traffic to stop as the elderly victim stepped onto the crossing.

Whelan, who works for Lloyds banking group, said: "I don't know why I didn't notice the light was red."

He said he first became aware of Mr Knox when the car collided with him. He said: "I didn't see him."

Whelan said he went to Mr Knox, who was conscious, and was saying sorry before he ran to a shop and asked for an ambulance to be called.

On Wednesday, Mr McSporran told the court that a social worker appointed by the court to investigate Whelan’s background concluded the accused was remorseful and this was genuine.

Mr McSporran also told the court that his client hadn’t come to the attention of the authorities before.

He added: “He is a pro-social, productive well behaved member of the community.

"A custodial sentence is not needed or in my submission justified.”

Mr McSporran said that Whelan thinks about the incident on a daily basis and that he had instructed him to apologise on his behalf to the court.

Mr McSporran added: “The apology will be of little value and comfort to them.

“But it is a genuine expression of remorse and an acknowledgement of the pain not only to the man he killed but to his family.”

Lord Beckett also banned Whelan from driving for 20 months.