Van Driver Sentenced After Knocking Down Boy, 11, In East Lothian

A van driver, who knocked down an 11-year old boy cycling home from school in East Lothian, because he was looking down at his work sheet to check an address, has been placed on a Community Payback Order for 12 months. Jason Coull, 25. was ordered to carry out 210 hours of unpaid work, banned from driving for two years and will have to re-sit the driving test. He had previously pled guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to a charge of dangerous driving on Boggs Holding Road in East Lothian, on June 3, 2013. The boy was cycling home, with a 12-year old friend walking alongside him on the grass verge, when he was hit by the Mercedes van at around 3.40pm. After the accident, Coull told police that he got out of the vehicle as soon as he could and saw the boy lying on the ground along with another boy standing crying beside him. He then put the child on the ground in the recovery position and called an ambulance. The court heard that the 11-year old suffered significant head injuries with severe swelling to his brain and his skull had to be drilled into to relieve the pressure. Sentencing Coull, Sheriff Frank Crowe said he accepted it had been a momentary lapse of concentration. Sheriff Crowe told Coull, "You reacted properly afterwards, stopped and took care of the boy until the emergency services arrived and it is accepted you have shown remorse and concern about the boy". The Sheriff told Coull that he also took into account the testimonials he had seen, his lack of previous convictions and that he appeared to be a hard-working and decent member of society. This, he said, made him think the offence was at the lower end of the scale.