Father Of Son Killed In Lorry Crash Slams Driver's Sentence As "A Mockery Of Justice"

The father of a student who died after a lorry careered into his taxi has slammed the driver's sentence as "a mockery of justice". Business student Anton Dementyev, 19, was with three friends on their way to celebrate their university exams finishing when Andrew Wilson's articulated lorry hit them. Wilson, 55, went through a red light on Argyle Street at the junction after the slip road of the M8 motorway and collided with the Skoda. Russian teenager Mr Dementyev was taken to hospital with a severe head and neck injury but tragically died the following day. Taxi driver William Tombe and students Juan Doval, from Madrid, Camillo Herrara from Columbia and Daulet Abalov, from Kazakhstan, were also injured. Wilson, from Ripon, North Yorkshire, pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to causing Mr Dementyev's death by careless driving, on May 8, 2013 and causing severe injury and permanent disfigurement to the other passengers. Sheriff Kenneth Mitchell handed him a community payback order with the conditions he must carry out 240 hours of unpaid work and he will be disqualified from driving for 19 months. Passing sentence he told Wilson: "Anton Dementyev was a much loved and popular young man, who had the prospect of a happy and successful future ahead of him. "He had set out to achieve his goals to be a success for his family and his girlfriend. He made them proud. They will continue to mourn but they will never forget." Speaking about the three surviving friends of Mr Dementyev he said: "The life of each of these young men has been detrimentally affected with far reaching adverse consequences for each of them and their families." The sheriff added: "Whilst I accept that your speed was not a contributing factor, I am not prepared to ignore it in determining whether your inattention was momentary. "Your careless driving arose from inattention which was more than momentary." Speaking outside court Vladimir Dementeyv, who travelled from Russia to be at the court hearing said: "It's a kind of mockery of justice. "It's not justice. We lost our son, he was our life, we are suffering every day." Mr Abolov expressed his unhappiness and said: "It's too light a sentence. It wasn't just a car accident, we lost Anton. I thought the sentence should be different." Earlier on the day of the incident Wilson left Harrogate in Yorkshire with plumbing materials to start his journey to Glasgow. Around 11pm on May 8, Mr Dementyev and his friends got a taxi from Dumbarton Road heading to Glasgow city centre. Procurator fiscal depute John Bedford said: "All were en route to a nightclub in Queen Street, Glasgow to celebrate the conclusion of their exams." Mr Abolov sat in the passenger seat in the front while the other three sat in the back with Mr Dementyev in the middle in the back. None of the students in the back of the car were wearing seatbelts. At around 11.20pm Wilson came off of the motorway and travelled through the junction towards the traffic lights on Argyle Street, travelling at 34mph in a 30mph zone. At the same time the taxi made its way along Stobcross Street to the junction with Argyle Street. Mr Bedford said: "The accused failed to comply with a red traffic light at the junction and struck the taxi on its near side and pushed it southwards. "The accused's vehicle and the taxi then collided with the support pillar for the Kingston Bridge." Both vehicles came to rest after moving over the carriageway. When police arrived at the scene Wilson told them "I didn't see the second set of lights." Those in the taxi had to be cut out using specialist equipment and Mr Dementyev was taken to to the Western Infirmary with "a significant head and neck injury". He later died the following day as a result of his injury. A pathologist later confirmed that even if Mr Dementyev had been wearing a seatbelt it would have made no difference. Mr Tombe had a fractured left cheek bone and cuts to his left ear and eye which were stitched. He suffered brain injuries and has been diagnosed with epilepsy and cervical spine damage as well as post traumatic amnesia and post traumatic stress disorder. Mr Herrara suffered swelling, grazes and bruising to his face and head and a cut above his left eyebrow. Mr Abalov had a fracture to his pelvis, groin and chest injuries and a fracture to the left temporal bone in his skull. Mr Doval broke his right leg and left wrist and suffered a fracture to left of his skull as well as multiple pelvic fractures and bruising to his lungs. He had glass embedded in his forehead and a cut to the right side of it. All will have permanent scars as a result of the incident. Defence counsel Simon Gilbride said Wilson has been driving since he was 17 and has held an HGV licence for more than 30 years. He said his client wanted to give his condolences to all those involved and particularly Mr Dementyev's family. The court heard Wilson is struggling to sleep at night because of the consequences of the crash.