Coventry mother feels 'helpless' after son's hit-and-run death (2024)

Published

19 June 2024

The mother of a 12-year-old boy who was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Coventry has said she feels “helpless” and wants the person responsible found.

Louise Slater made a tearful appeal at a news conference in Birmingham, five days after her son Keaton died when he was struck by a black BMW on 14 June.

West Midlands Police said they believed Dolars Aleksanders, 21, was the driver of the car.

The force urged him to “do the right thing” and hand himself in.

A 21-year-old man, one of three passengers of the car, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving on Tuesday and has since been released on bail.

Another person had been arrested and was in custody on suspicion of assisting an offender, officers confirmed.

Police said there were four people in the car, with one person who had been interviewed as a witness and another voluntarily interviewed.

The car was driving "well above" the speed limit when it struck Keaton, they added.

Ms Slater, who sat alongside Keaton's father Clint, and his two older brothers, Keanu, 17, and Kai, 13, described her son as a “fun loving joker”.

In an emotional statement, she urged anyone who knew of Mr Aleksanders’ whereabouts to contact the authorities.

“The whole family, his school friends are all heartbroken," she said.

“Our little fun loving joker has made everyone laugh all the time... [the person] who did this to Keaton has taken everything away from us all and we’ve lost our baby boy."

Ms Slater, who was visibly shaking as she spoke, told the press conference she had initially declined to speak as it would never bring her son back, but "hearing that whoever did this will not hand themselves in, has left us all feeling helpless".

"We need to get justice for our Keaton," she said. "We just want everyone to find who took our son, Keanu and Kai's little brother, away from us.

“Please, if anyone knows anything or where they are, please come forward so we can have justice for our family.”

Wiping away her tears, Ms Slater, 51, said: "We were a family of five but now we are four.

"Our lives will never be the same again and Keaton's brothers, dad, nana and granddad and myself are devastated."

Police said they believed Mr Aleksanders, who was born in Latvia but was a UK resident, was living in the Coventry area at the time of the crash.

Ports and airports have been alerted and the West Midlands force said it was liaising with other international agencies.

By Midlands Correspondent Phil Mackie

Louise Slater was shaking so much as she entered the room to read her statement that her husband, Clint, had to help to keep her steady.

Keaton’s elder brothers Keanu and Kai then held their parents’ hands throughout the brief news conference to provide more emotional support.

These kinds of news conferences are always difficult for bereaved families, but the Slaters took the hard decision to appear on camera because after five days detectives have not been able to track down their main suspect.

They hope that their appearance might prompt someone to contact the police with the information they need.

Coventry City fan Keaton, whose family all wore the club's colours during the news conference, was pronounced dead at the scene after he was struck by the car which failed to stop in Radford Road, Coventry, at about 16:30 BST on Friday.

Dozens of tributes, including candles, flowers and Coventry City memorabilia have been left at the scene, with the club saying it was "deeply saddened" by Keaton's death.

In a separate statement also read to the media by Ms Slater, the 12-year-old's brother, Keanu, said: "I will never be able to see him joke around with us again, never be able to see him grow my age.

"There are not enough words to describe what he meant to us all. Our best friend, our little brother, a son and now an angel, all in one person."

Sgt Rich Evans, from West Midlands Police, added: "We have already made arrests and spoken to a number of people who were also in that car.

"We are also fully aware that the suspect was born in Latvia and we are doing further inquiries with our international counterparts."

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