A garbage truck driver who struck and killed a Sydney pedestrian while cutting a corner has been spared immediate jail time.
Barry John Reidy, a council worker, crashed into 61-year-old Dani Gordon as she crossed a residential road in Doonside during an early morning walk on March 31, 2020.
The 57-year-old truck driver was turning right into the road and had failed to keep a proper lookout as he briefly drove in the northbound lane, the District Court found on Monday.
While Reidy considers the incident as "purely a terrible accident", a jury in June found him guilty of dangerous driving occasioning death.
Judge Sarah Harris said Reidy's inattention was not fleeting or entirely limited to the 0.88 seconds Ms Gordon was visible on the truck's dash camera.
"Nor, however, was it much more than mere inattention," she said on Monday .
Whilst a jail term was necessary, Judge Harris said it could be served by an intensive corrections order in light of the case's circumstances.
Reidy had a long history of good behaviour, very good prospects of rehabilitation and low moral culpability, she said.
She ordered he serve two years' imprisonment in the community through an intensive corrections order that began on Monday.
He will required to remain of good behaviour, follow reasonable directions of Corrective Services NSW, consult with his GP about a mental health care plan and be treated by a psychologist as required.
He will also need to perform 480 hours of community service.
Any breach could result in further conditions or Reidy being forced to serve part or all of his sentence in a jail.
His licence will also remain suspended until March 31, 2023.
At the time of the crash, Reidy had been driving garbage trucks for 20 years and spent 25 years at Blacktown City Council.
He was familiar with the route.
When struck, Ms Gordon was near the centre of the road.
She hit the truck's windshield, cracking it, and then tumbled forward and hit her head on the road.
Her widower Graham Wilson told the court he went into shock at the scene of the incident and "felt my heart was being ripped out of my body."
Now, struggling to get out of bed each day, he speaks to a photo of her in the house they had shared and tries to recall their good times together.
Judge Harris said the family's statements of grief were "a powerful and moving record of their loss which will continue forever".
