The key facts

  • Aleksandrs Dolars was sentenced to 9 years and 4 months for the death of 12-year-old Keaton Slater in Coventry on 14 June 2024
  • He hid in Latvia for more than two years due to the absence of an extradition treaty with the UK after Brexit
  • The family and MP Taiwo Owatemi campaigned for his extradition; the family considers the sentence too lenient

Sentence after a two-year manhunt

Judge Kristina Montgomery KC sentenced 23-year-old Aleksandrs Dolars to nine years and four months in prison for the death of 12-year-old schoolboy Keaton Slater, telling him: 'Your selfish and dangerous driving took his life.' According to the court, Dolars was driving at 75–76 mph in a 30 mph zone when he struck and killed the boy in Coventry. After the collision he did not stop and within a few days fled to his native Latvia.

Circumstances of the collision

Keaton, a devoted Coventry City fan, was returning from school with friends on 14 June 2024 and had just got off a bus. He stepped onto Radford Road and was about to cross; the court heard that at that moment he could not see Dolars' BMW. Noticing the approaching car, the boy tried to run out of the way but failed. The judge noted that this was not a 'momentary lapse of attention': immediately beforehand, Dolars had been seen weaving in front of cars in the wrong lane at traffic lights.

Extradition and the family's campaign

For more than two years Dolars evaded justice because, after Brexit, the extradition treaty between Latvia and the UK was no longer in force. The boy's parents launched a campaign for his return: they were supported by the MP for Coventry North West, Taiwo Owatemi, and the family met with the Latvian ambassador. In August this year Dolars was finally extradited, and at Warwick Crown Court he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. According to Owatemi, the judge ordered the defendant to be personally present at the sentencing, following appeals to the Justice Secretary on behalf of the family — it had previously been believed that he could not be compelled to appear.

The family's words and reaction to the sentence

The boy's mother, Louise Slater, told the court that she could not understand how anyone could leave a child they had just struck without stopping to help — 'that knowledge has added another layer of pain to an already unbearable loss.' She described her son as 'funny, caring, loving and full of life' and read out a letter he had written to his future self on his first day at secondary school — about his dream of playing in the football team and passing his GCSE exams. Keaton's brothers, Kai and Josh, also spoke. After the hearing, the family said the sentence was insufficient: the father said it was 'the maximum they could give, but it is not enough.' Louise noted that, serving two-thirds of his term, Dolars would be released in six years, whereas her child lived only 12. She added that after his release he would be banned from driving. Detective Chief Inspector Sam Lewis, who led the investigation, stressed that the boy 'should have returned home safely' and that bringing the culprit to justice had been an 'extremely challenging' case, completed thanks to persistence and patience.

A boy with blonde hair and a blue and red football top sitting on a black bike in a garden with a fence behind himImage source, Family photo
Image caption,

Keaton loved football and was

A man with a bald head and a dark beard in front of a grey backgroundImage source, West Midlands Police
Image caption,

Aleksanders Dolars was driving at 75-76mph in a 30mph zone

Image source, Family photo
Image caption,

Keaton's mother read out a letter he had written nine months before his death, speaking about his hopes for the future

Two men with short hair, one in a light coloured coat, the other in a dark coloured coat, on either side of a woman in dark hair in a dark coat, with a collection of microphones in front of them
Image caption,

After the sentencing, Keaton's family spoke to the media

A boy on a bike wearing a blue and purple Barcelona football kitA boy in a sky blue Coventry City home shirt is smiling at the cameraA boy in a sky blue Coventry City home shirt is smiling at the cameraA young boy with short blonde hair, parted on the left side of his head, looks into the camera. He wears a blue football top with the top of a club logo visible just at the edge of the shot. He stands in front of a glass-paned door with a brown wooden frame.