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Huddersfield Road near Netherton (credit: Google Maps)Professional footballer admits causing death of cyclist
A professional footballer has pleaded guilty to causing the death of a cyclist by careless driving.
Lucas Akins, who currently plays for League One club Mansfield Town and has also played for Huddersfield Town, Burton Albion and various other professional clubs in England and Scotland, admitted causing the death of Adrian Daniel on Huddersfield Road in Netherton, Yorkshire Live reports.
The 36-year-old footballer of Heys Road, Thongsbridge, near Holmfirth, hit the 33-year-old cyclist, causing him serious injuries. Mr Daniel was treated by paramedics and rushed to hospital but died ten days later.
Adrian Daniel (credit: West Yorkshire Police)The Yorkshire news website reported that Akins was driving a Mercedes G Wagon at the time of the collision and that he today appeared at Leeds Crown Court to enter a guilty plea to a charge of causing death by careless of inconsiderate driving.
Prosecuting, Carmel Pearson said the plea was accepted and Mr Daniel's family had been informed.
Judge Menary bailed Akins until April 24 when a sentencing hearing will take place and told him: "You have pleaded guilty to the offence at count 2. I am imposing an interim disqualification and you are now disqualified from obtaining or getting a driving licence. You must not drive on a public road."
Causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving carries a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment.
Akins has played for League One club Mansfield Town since 2022, the striker making 25 appearances this season and starting the team's most recent fixture on Saturday. road.cc has contacted Mansfield Town Football Club for comment but did not receive a reply.
Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.
Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.
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7 comments
Driving a car over two tonnes, or wider than 190cm, should preclude pleading down from dangerous to careless driving if you injure or kill someone. You chose to take such a monsterous vehicle out on the roads, where you knew it would increase the risks to other road users, hence it wasn't careless at all, it was dangerous.
Footballer must be worried! He's at serious risk of a terrifying suspended sentence and a talking-to here. Yet another deployment of the 'careless' instead of 'dangerous' dodge.
Driving a Mercedes G-Wagon
Now, a footballer doesn't need a high-up, square-fronted, car like that. there isn't a "business case" for him owning one. It is purely a fashion choice.
But it is a car that is much more dangerous for a cyclist compared to a Mercedes A-class, a similar luxury car. There is a reasonable counterfactual to be explored as to whether Mr Daniel would still be alive if Akins were in a less dangerous car.
This should be a factor in the sentencing.
I think you could easily argue that 90% of vehicles on the road are unnecessarily sized and add a considerable risk of injury (to others) in the event of a collision. Here in Devon, a large number of people seem to think "I live in the country so a huge SUV is necessary", whereas a once a week trip to Sainburys and once a month to the docs is not really what they're built for.
I often look at the size of cars being driven around small winding roads...and then marvel how the world seems to fall apart when they meet something similar coming the other way.
That (car-shaped) boat has sailed, alas... (until something like this starts becoming popular).
Many modern vehicles exhibit something of the "reverse-tardis" effect - they are not much bigger on the inside given their much bigger exteriors. But apparently that's "because safety" or something.
Anyway - I would be in favour of some kind of a Japanese-style rules (apparently you don't get to have a car if you can't show you've a place to store it, was it?) Perhaps something more lenient initially like "if you have a garage, you don't get to park your car on the street outside". Which of course would be unfair as for many older properties where could you now buy a car which would fit?
And many properties have more than one car these days.
If I had to keep my car in the garage, I would have nowhere to keep my bikes.🤔
I just can't understand why such large cars are in such high demand. Fuel costs, tyre costs etc are much higher.
It is a triumph of marketing over practicality.
Yes ... and people buy what's on sale. (You might have to look harder for something smaller).
Keeping up with the Joneses?
Arms race (have to have a mini-truck to protect myself from others with them)?
Garages are just "storage space" because we (collectively / government) have accepted that "public space" includes "my parking space". Why wouldn't you, until they actually clamp your car and charge you? (Then you go to the court ... of public opinion!)