Hit-and-run driver who fled to Latvia after killing schoolboy in 75mph Coventry collision jailed - The Independent

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A hit-and-run driver who fled to Latvia after killing a 12-year-old schoolboy while travelling at 75mph has been sentenced to nine years and four months in prison.

Aleksanders Dolars, 23, was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on Friday for causing death by dangerous driving. The court heard how the violent collision in Coventry in June 2024 threw Keaton Slater into two parked vehicles, "likely killing him instantly".

Keaton’s mother said she was “tortured” following her son’s death, remembering that he had asked for the day off school the day he was killed as he walked home.

Dolars pleaded guilty to the charge in September after being extradited from Latvia under a legal change enacted in July.

Imposing the custodial sentence alongside a 10-year driving disqualification upon his release, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC told Dolars that his "grossly excessive speed made a collision with Keaton unavoidable".

Addressing the defendant, the judge stated: "When your car struck Keaton, it projected him into parked cars, likely killing him instantly.

"You must have known you had struck a pedestrian and you must have realised he would be gravely injured, but you did not stop or even slow down, you sped away and abandoned your car some seven-and-a-half miles away.

"His injuries were catastrophic and fatal."

Wearing a white shirt and black trousers, Dolars remained motionless in the dock as he was told he must serve at least two-thirds of his sentence prior to becoming eligible for release on licence.

The court was told that Keaton was walking home from school alongside friends on Radford Road around 4.30pm when he was hit by a black BMW. Dolars was driving the car at speeds between 75mph and 76.4mph in a 30mph zone.

Prosecution counsel Michelle Heeley KC explained that Dolars, who was accompanied by two friends, intentionally overtook a line of stationary traffic at a junction by using a right-turn-only lane before proceeding straight ahead and striking the schoolboy.

Family members of the victim, who were seated in court wearing "Justice for Keaton" T-shirts, left the room while video footage of the collision was displayed.

Ms Heeley noted that Keaton had looked left to check for oncoming traffic prior to crossing, but the approaching BMW was out of sight at that moment while positioned in the right-turn lane.

After stepping off the pavement and crossing the initial traffic lane, the boy spotted Dolars’ car accelerating towards him from the traffic lights.

Keaton attempted to run to safety but was struck, sustaining fatal traumatic injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 4.41pm.

Following the collision, Dolars accelerated away. A passenger inside the car recalled hearing an occupant yell ‘go, go, go’ immediately after the impact.

The BMW, which examination later showed had no mechanical faults, was left several miles away. Dolars ordered a taxi to leave the area and subsequently escaped the country.

When later interviewed in Latvia, Dolars admitted driving the vehicle and stated he absconded because he was "scared about what would happen to him in jail", Ms Heeley said.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Keaton’s mother, Louise Slater, said her "baby was gone forever".

She stated: "No parent should ever have to write these words. Keaton was our world, funny, caring, loving and full of life. He brought happiness into our home. The day Keaton was killed was the day our family stopped being whole."

Mrs Slater expressed her ongoing heartache, recalling how Keaton had asked for the day off school on the morning of his death.

She told the court: "When Keaton walked out of the door that day, we expected him to come home… we said goodbye to him that day without knowing it was the final goodbye.

"He should be here, he should be growing up, laughing and playing football with friends and making memories with his family. Our lives changed forever and nothing will ever be the same again.

"I know in my heart I could not have known what was going to happen but that doesn’t stop the guilt being there. Our baby is gone forever."

She also shared a letter written by Keaton to his future self during his first day of secondary school nine months earlier, in which he expressed his wish to pass all his GCSEs at the end of Year 11.

Keaton’s eldest brother, Josh, described the day of the crash as the moment "everything came crashing down".

He noted that the event destroyed his family and the life he had built, adding: "The pain never goes away or gets any easier.

"The defendant’s reckless behaviour that day has shattered the lives of so many people, to run off afterwards is unbelievable."

His father, Clint, described Keaton as his best friend, stating: "A huge part of my world stopped the day Keaton died. Nothing can bring my son back.

"He was loved, he mattered, he was more than what happened to him, he was my son, my best friend, my mini-me."

Dolars' barrister Carl Templar-Vasey said no mitigation could make amends for the "tragic outcome".

He said: "He does, through me, wish to apologise to Keaton’s family and all those affected by his actions. He feels shame and a deep sense of sorrow."

He added that Dolars left the country out of "fear and panic, and in his own words, selfishness".

Mr Templar-Vasey said: "He knows that no sentence can change what happened that day or bring Keaton back and recognises it will be a substantial sentence.

"He understands the deep feeling held against him and will serve his sentence passed by this court."

Judge Montgomery remarked that the driving was "not a momentary lapse of attention", as Dolars had deliberately disregarded traffic rules to bypass stationary vehicles out of impatience.

She told him: "You drove more than twice the speed limit on a road lined with homes and shops. You put your own impatience ahead of the safety of everyone around you. Keaton was entitled to walk home safely.

"Your selfish and dangerous driving took his life and left his family to face an unbearable loss. You abandoned the car and fled the country to avoid facing the consequences.

"Your fear of imprisonment did not justify leaving Keaton behind… You chose to protect yourself."

The Crown Prosecution Service said Latvian authorities assisted in gathering evidence for UK investigators and collaborated to explore legal avenues for extradition.

Given the "nature and sensitivity" of the matter, Latvian officials determined that a legislative amendment was necessary to remove the legal barrier preventing the extradition of Latvian citizens.

Following the statutory change, Dolars was detained in Latvia, where a court ruled he had a case to answer in the UK and permitted his extradition.

Tamina Greaves, from the CPS, said: "This case presented challenges from the start with a suspect at large with no legal framework to get access to him.

"However, throughout this case there has been one constant, which has been the resilience and determination of Keaton’s parents, Louise and Clint, to see justice done for their son, who was taken from them is such tragic circumstances.

"Their determination has inspired us to give everything we could to get to today’s outcome.

"Today’s sentence is the culmination of a sustained joined effort by the police investigation team, CPS West Midlands, with the support of our Liaison Prosecutors based in the region along with the Extradition Unit and the Latvian authorities.

"I thank everyone whose dedication helped bring this man back to the UK to face justice for Keaton’s death.

"Above all, I thank Louise and Clint for their resilience in keeping Keaton at the forefront of everyone’s minds and their refusal to accept the man responsible for this tragedy could not be brought to justice.

"They have shown remarkable dignity throughout, and I wish them well as they attempt to rebuild their lives."

Speaking after the ruling, Josh Slater described feeling "raging" upon seeing Dolars in court, stating that no length of custody would suffice.

He said: "For what he has done to the whole family, he has destroyed all of us, there is no words. He is a coward. He is only saying sorry now because he is behind bars."

Keaton’s parents expressed dissatisfaction with the length of the sentence.

Mrs Slater added: "It’s good to know he isn’t going to be able to be on the roads and do this to another family, but six years, I think he should have got longer because my baby only had 12 years on this planet."