Mansfield Town forward Lucas Akins has been sentenced to 14 months in prison after admitting to causing the death of cyclist Adrian Daniel by careless driving.
The incident occurred in March 2022 near Huddersfield, when Akins, 36, pulled out from a junction while driving his seven-year-old daughter to a piano lesson. He struck Daniel, 33, who was cycling home from work along Huddersfield Road. Daniel suffered catastrophic head injuries and died ten days later in hospital.
Leeds Crown Court heard that Akins, who was driving a Mercedes G-Wagon, failed to stop at a give-way sign at the junction of Crosland Factory Lane. Though the Mansfield striker told police he had not seen Daniel, headcam footage from the cyclist confirmed the fatal collision.
“It has been like hell and a nightmare I’m not waking up from. There was no reason for Adrian to be killed that way,” said Daniel’s wife, Savanna, in a heartbreaking statement to the court. “We do not need any more lives to be destroyed from this.” She also criticised Akins for not pleading guilty sooner, prolonging her family’s grief.
The court was told that Akins admitted the charge at a previous hearing. Prosecutor Carmel Pearson confirmed that while the junction was challenging to navigate, Akins had not stopped as required.
Judge Alex Menary acknowledged Akins’s remorse and the personal challenges he was facing at the time. Despite considering a suspended sentence, he ruled that the offence warranted immediate custody.
Tim Pole, defending, said the collision had a “profound” impact on Akins, who remains burdened by guilt. He noted that Akins’s marriage had since broken down, though he continues to co-parent his three children. Pole also revealed the player had retained the support of Mansfield Town until now but acknowledged this may change following the sentencing.
The judge disqualified Akins from driving for 12 months and added: “It is plain to me you are someone who is highly unlikely to trouble the courts again… but the appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody.”
Writer’s View
It raises difficult questions that Akins continued to play for Mansfield Town despite being convicted of causing death by careless driving. While he had not yet been sentenced, his admission of guilt and the nature of the case made his presence on the pitch feel uncomfortable to many.
With the club now “considering its position,” one wonders if a more decisive stance should have been taken earlier out of respect for Adrian Daniel and his grieving family.
