A professional footballer has received a prison sentence for causing a cyclist’s death in a car accident.
Lucas Akins began a League One match for Mansfield Town only hours after admitting i court to causing the death of Adrian Daniel due to careless or inconsiderate driving.
Mansfield Town forward Lucas Akins collided with Adrian Daniel in his Mercedes G350 on 17 March 2022 in Huddersfield, while driving his daughter to a piano lesson.
Leeds Crown Court was told that 33-year-old Adrian Daniel sustained severe head injuries and died 10 days later. On 4 March, just hours after admitting to causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving, 36-year-old Akins took part in Mansfield’s 0-0 draw with Wigan. The forward has remained an active player for Mansfield Town since the crash. On Thursday, Judge Alex Menary stated that while he had considered a suspended sentence, he ultimately decided that a 14-month immediate prison term was the only suitable outcome.
A spokesperson for Mansfield Town FC stated that the club “respects” the court’s ruling and extended its “heartfelt and deepest sympathies to Adrian Daniel’s family during this challenging time.”
The spokesperson added that the club is currently reviewing its stance on Lucas and will not be providing any additional comments at this time.
Prosecutor Carmel Pearson explained that although the junction was challenging to navigate, the defendant “failed to stop at the give-way sign.”
Savanna Daniel, the wife of the victim, described the experience in court as “like living in hell and a nightmare [she] can’t wake up from.”
She expressed her anguish by saying, “There was no justification for Adrian to lose his life like that,” and added that it was “far too straightforward a crash to result in someone’s death.”
Mrs. Daniel expressed that she didn’t want Akins’s children to grow up without their father, stating she didn’t wish for “any more lives to be ruined by this.” However, she criticized Akins for delaying his guilty plea.
Tim Pole, Akins’s defense lawyer, described him as “a fundamentally decent, honest, and hard-working man.”
“I would like to issue a public apology on his behalf,” he said.
Pole also acknowledged that Akins recognized and understood Mrs. Daniel’s “pain and frustration” over the delayed plea.
In delivering the sentence, the judge accepted that Akins showed sincere remorse but noted that his delay in admitting guilt had extended Mrs. Daniel’s “suffering and sorrow.”
Following the sentencing, Mrs. Daniel stated through West Yorkshire Police that “three years of hell” had finally come to an end. She accused Akins of turning the justice process into a “farce” and said his delay in pleading guilty “undermines any claims of remorse he expresses for his actions.”
Akins, who joined Mansfield Town in 2022 and has formerly played for clubs such as Huddersfield Town, Tranmere Rovers, and Burton Albion, was also handed a 12-month driving ban.
