Keaton Slater killer ordered to face victim’s family at sentencing

A driver who killed a 12-year-old boy as he walked home from school and then fled the country has been ordered to face his victim’s family in court, an MP has said.

Dolars Aleksanders fled to Latvia after fatally striking Keaton Slater in Coventry and evaded police for two years before being extradited to the UK.

Aleksanders, who has admitted causing death by dangerous driving, is due to be sentenced on 13 November.

While it had been thought he could not be compelled to attend the hearing, Coventry MP Taiwo Owatemi said the judge had now ordered him to appear in person following representations to the justice minister on the family’s behalf.

Keaton’s mother, Louise, said she wanted Aleksanders to hear directly about the impact his death had on the family, telling BBC Breakfast: “For him not to listen to that, it infuriates me.”

The government is set to introduce tougher punishments for offenders who refuse to attend their sentencing.

Latvian Aleksanders was extradited to the UK in August, following a campaign by Keaton’s family and the MP.

Louise said: “He was our ray of sunshine. The house was always so loud. He had this contagious laugh and he’d make you laugh with him.

“And now it’s so quiet in the house. It’s too quiet for me. I have to put the radio on for background noise. I still feel like he’s going to walk through the door.”

Aleksanders struck the Coventry schoolboy with his black BMW 330 on Radford Road on 14 June 2024.

“It’s been two years, but for me it feels like yesterday still,” said Louise.

“It’s heartbreaking.”