Aleksanders Dolars, 23, has been sentenced to nine years and four months in prison for the death of a 12-year-old boy in Britain. He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and has been banned from driving for 16 years, according to the British newspaper Daily Mail.
The crash happened on June 14, 2024, in Coventry, England. Keaton Slater, 12, was walking home from school with friends and trying to cross the road when he was struck by the BMW Dolars was driving. In a 30 mph zone, Dolars was traveling at more than 70 mph. Prosecutors said he had reached 76 mph and had been weaving through traffic at speed before the collision.
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After the impact, Keaton’s body struck two parked cars. He died shortly afterward. Dolars did not stop to help him but sped away. Prosecutor Michelle Healey said someone inside the car had been heard shouting, “Go, go, go!”
About 20 minutes later, the car was found abandoned more than nine kilometers from the scene. Dolars fled to Latvia immediately after the crash and remained there for more than two years. In August 2026, he was extradited to Britain, where he appeared before a court in Warwick and admitted responsibility for the boy’s death.
At the hearing, Keaton’s mother, Louise Slater, read a statement about the pain of losing her son. She said the pain could not be put into words and would never go away. When Keaton left home that day, the family expected him to return; no one imagined they were seeing him for the last time.
His father, Clint Slater, called Keaton his best friend. He said one of the family’s greatest sorrows was that they would never know what kind of man their son would have become.
Keaton was cheerful and energetic, loved football and dreamed of becoming a footballer. In July 2024, hundreds of people attended his farewell service at Coventry Cathedral. The service featured sky-blue decorations in honor of his favorite team, Coventry City.
Sentencing Dolars, Judge Kristina Montgomery said his selfish and dangerous driving had taken a child’s life and caused his family an irreparable loss. She stressed that his fear of prison did not justify fleeing and leaving Keaton at the scene.
The 12-year-old’s parents said the sentence should have been longer. Louise Slater said that, although she took comfort in knowing Dolars would not be able to drive and cause another family such a tragedy, he should spend more years in prison, as her son had lived for only 12 years.
