Jon Charles Muller, 36, of Kooringal was sentenced in Wagga Local Court on Tuesday having earlier pleaded guilty to one count of negligent driving occasioning death.

At 5.40pm on June 17 the victim, an 83-year-old man, was walking across the pedestrian crossing outside the Tolland shopping centre on Bourke Street.

Muller was driving north in a Mitsubishi Triton on Bourke street, at 45 to 50 kilometres per hour in a 60 km/h signposted zone and it was dark, overcast and raining at the time.

Muller told police he momentarily took his eyes off road to check windscreen wipers and check his speed.

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Muller's front passenger alerted him to the victim crossing the road and Muller applied his brakes heavily but still hit the victim, throwing him into the air. The victim landed about five metres away.

The victim suffered a fractured spine and neck and broken ribs and pelvis and was transferred from Wagga to St George Hospital the next day, where he underwent a number of surgeries but died on June 24.

Muller's solicitor, Zac Tankard, told the court that his client had been left physically "unrecognisable' by the trauma of taking someone's life and lost significant weight from having trouble eating or sleeping.

"He genuinely has extreme remorse and significant empathy for the victim," Mr Tankard said.

Mr Tankard said the crossing had also been recognised as an accident black spot by Wagga City Council.

Magistrate Christopher Halburd said these types of cases were the most difficult to sentence but the court had to recognise that somebody's life had been lost.

"When you drive on the road, you are also responsible for everybody else that you come into contact with," he said.

Muller was sentenced to a nine-month intensive corrections order with 100 hours of community service and was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.

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