A hit-and-run driver who escaped to Latvia after fatally striking a ‘happy, bubbly’ schoolboy on his way home has been sentenced to almost 10 years in prison.
Dolars Aleksanders was travelling at more than 70mph in a 30mph area when he hit football-loving Keaton Slater, aged 12.
Aleksanders fled to Latvia immediately after the collision in Coventry, West Midlands, on June 14, 2024. He was extradited to the UK in August to face justice.
The 23-year-old pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for nine years and four months.
He was ordered to attend court in person after representations were made to the justice minister on behalf of Keaton’s family, following his attempt to avoid appearing for sentencing.
Warwick Crown Court heard that Aleksanders had been travelling with two male friends and a prostitute they had picked up shortly before the crash.
The prosecution said he had already been swerving around other vehicles before accelerating through traffic lights at speeds of up to 76mph near a row of shops.
At the same moment, Keaton stepped from the pavement to cross the road. His view was partly blocked by traffic, but when he saw the speeding BMW he tried to run. Aleksanders was travelling too quickly to stop, striking the boy and throwing him into two parked cars, the court heard.
Dolars Aleksanders, 23, was extradited from Latvia more than two years after the fatal collision
Prosecutor Michelle Healey said a passenger was heard shouting, ‘Go, go, go’ immediately after the impact.
Rather than stopping, the driver accelerated, while the prostitute inside the vehicle shouted to be allowed out. Aleksanders eventually stopped to let her leave before abandoning the car and driving away.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Keaton’s mother, Louise Slater, said: ‘There are no words that can properly describe the pain of losing a child. It is heartbreak that never leaves you.
‘I cannot understand how anyone could leave a child who had just been struck and not stop to help him.
‘That knowledge has added another layer of pain to an already unbearable loss.
‘When Keaton walked out of our door that day, we expected him to come home. We never imagined that we were watching him leave for the last time.
‘It is not only Keaton who died that day. A part of all of us as a family died with him. Our lives changed forever, and nothing will ever be the same again.’
She continued: ‘Keaton was our world. He was funny, caring, loving and full of life. He had the biggest smile and a heart full of kindness.’
Keaton Slater, 12, was remembered as a ‘happy, bubbly’ schoolboy who dreamed of becoming a footballer
Keaton, who was described as a ‘happy, bubbly’ child with hopes of becoming a professional footballer, died soon after the collision at around 4.30pm.
The BMW was discovered abandoned more than six miles from the scene approximately 20 minutes later.
Hundreds of mourners attended Keaton’s funeral at Coventry Cathedral in July 2024. The service featured a sky-blue theme in tribute to his beloved Coventry City.
His father, Clint Slater, spoke of losing his ‘best friend’ and said it was ‘really heartbreaking’ that the family would ‘never get to know what he’d grow up to be’.
Keaton’s brothers, Keanu and Kai, also paid tribute to him.
During sentencing, Judge Kristina Montgomery, KC, told Aleksanders: ‘Your selfish and dangerous driving took his life and left his family to bear an irreparable loss.
‘Your fear of imprisonment did not excuse leaving Keaton behind.’
West Midlands Police said officers had worked ‘tirelessly’ alongside the Crown Prosecution Service and National Crime Agency to secure Aleksanders’ arrest. The investigation was aided by a new extradition agreement between the UK and Latvia.
Aleksanders, who has previous convictions for threatening behaviour and possessing a knife, was flown to Gatwick Airport in August. He pleaded guilty to causing Keaton’s death the following month.
He was also disqualified from driving for 16 years.
Detective Chief Inspector Sam Lewis, of West Midlands Police, said Keaton was ‘a 12-year-old boy, making his way home from school, and he should have been able to arrive back safely’.