Latvian man extradited to UK and charged over death of schoolboy in Coventry

A Latvian man has been extradited to the UK and charged over the death of a 12-year-old boy in an alleged hit-and-run more than two years ago.

Keaton Slater died after he was struck by a black BMW on Radford Road, Coventry, in June 2024. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dolars Aleksanders, 23, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving after an extradition operation involving British and Latvian authorities.

West Midlands Police said Aleksanders was detained in Latvia last month. He was flown to Gatwick Airport on Wednesday and taken into custody, where he remains on remand.

He is due to appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

In a statement, Crown Prosecution Service spokesman Ben Samples said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to charge Dolars Aleksanders with one count of causing death by dangerous driving following a police investigation into a fatal road traffic collision that led to the death of Keaton Slater.

“Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court to pursue criminal proceedings.

“CPS West Midlands has worked closely with West Midlands Police, the Home Office, the Latvian authorities, Europol, the Joint International Crime Centre (JICC), CPS International and our Extradition Unit to bring Mr Aleksanders back to face proceedings in a UK court for an alleged crime that took place here.”

Police added that Keaton’s parents were being supported by specially trained officers and had been updated on the developments.

Keaton’s mother, Louise Slater, told Sky News in September 2024: “We get upset as a family over Keaton because we’ll never get to see him turn 13, 14… have his first drink, go to college and university. He wanted to be a famous footballer, and we won’t ever get to see that.”

Asked how she felt in the days after the fatal collision, she said: “You’re still expecting him to walk in the door and say, ‘I’m back”… every day is like Groundhog Day; you wake up numb, and you keep thinking, ‘he’s going to walk through the door.”

Source:   news.sky.com