Jack, his six-year-old sister and a 12-year-old friend were given permission from their parents during a family party to walk to the shops to buy dinner supplies in August 2018.
They bought what they needed at the supermarket and were just minutes from home when Zhou Hui Lu, not paying attention, ran a red light.
He was on his way home from work and didn't see the lights on the pedestrian crossing outside Melbourne's Blackburn High School turn amber and then red.
The pedestrian light was green and the noise was sounding as the children crossed.
Jack, 10, was hit by the passenger side of Lu's van and hit his head on the windscreen. He suffered catastrophic head injuries and died in hospital the following day.
His sister was just a few steps in front of him and had been dragged across the street by the older friend who heard Lu's screeching tyres.
Lu hit the brakes before entering the crossing but skidded through as the children crossed the road.
He admitted dangerous driving causing Jack's death.
"As this case shows, inattention can have catastrophic consequences," Justice Amanda Fox told the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday.
Lu, who has been traumatised by the crash, had expressed regret, remorse and sadness about his actions, Justice Fox said.
He buys flowers on the anniversary of Jack's death to lay at the scene and prays for Jack and his family.
Justice Fox said Lu's risk of reoffending was low and took into account his guilty plea, which spared Jack's young sister and friend from having to give evidence.
She said Lu also risked deportation to China if handed a prison sentence
Lu was given a three-year community corrections order and must complete 300 hours of unpaid community work over 36 months.
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