The driver, named as Larissa, 65, was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence by Harju County Court in late May this year and must pay a little over €3,400 in costs, following a plea deal over the incident, which took place in March last year.

In-cabin security footage shows she had a video playing on her phone, which was in a dashboard-mounted holder, at the time of the fatality, and failed to notice a man on the tracks as the tram approached along Peterburi tee shortly after 8:30 p.m. on March 21, 2025, striking and killing him.

Rasmus Saks, head of transport operations at Tallinn City Transport (TLT), expressed sadness over the fatality – the victim was declared dead at the scene – and said drivers had been reminded of safety procedures, including refraining from using phones while driving, adding that TLT is doing everything possible to avoid another incident of this kind.

A member of the public who was among the first on the scene said the victim had been wearing dark clothes and no reflector, adding that the location was poorly lit, though the in-cabin footage shows Larissa initially attempting to conceal her phone before calling emergency dispatchers on an internal line; during the investigation and trial she said she had no recollection of the incident, though expressed sincere remorse.

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