Professional footballer Lucas Akins jailed for causing death of cyclist in crash

A professional footballer who caused the death of a cyclist as he drove out at a junction has been jailed for 14 months.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Adrian Daniel, 33, died 10 days after he was hit by Mansfield Town player Lucas Akins, who was driving his seven-year-old daughter to a piano lesson in a Mercedes G-Wagon in Huddersfield in March 2022.

Mr Daniel was riding down Huddersfield Road on his way home from work when Grenada international Akins, 36, pulled into his path from Crosland Factory Lane.

Prosecutors said the League One player failed to stop at a give-way sign, which the defendant disputed, telling police he did not see Mr Daniel approach.

On Thursday, Judge Alex Menary said he had considered suspending the prison term but had decided only an immediate sentence of 14 months was appropriate.

Akins, of Holmfirth, admitted causing death by careless driving at a previous hearing.

Carmel Pearson, prosecuting, said the collision was recorded on Mr Daniel’s headcam.

He suffered catastrophic head injuries and died 10 days later in hospital.

The prosecutor said it was a “difficult junction to emerge from” but the defendant “did not stop at the give-way sign”.

Mr Daniel’s wife Savanna read a statement to the court, describing her husband as “an adrenaline junkie” who rode his bike to and from work every day.

She said they were married the year before he died and Mr Daniel was totally devoted to her and her daughter from a previous relationship.

Mrs Daniel told the judge: “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.”

Mrs Daniels said that if drugs, drink or excessive speed had been involved, that might make it more understandable, but added: “This was too simple a collision to have a taken a life.”

She said she knows Akins has a young family and she does not want them to grow up without their father.

She added: “We do not need any more lives to be destroyed from this.”

But she criticised him for failing to plead guilty at an earlier stage.

Tim Pole, defending, told the judge: “I want to publicly apologise on his behalf.

“The fact he caused the death of Mr Daniel continues to dominate his thoughts and it’s a burden he will carry for the rest of his life.”

Mr Pole said his client understood the “frustration and anger” expressed by Mrs Daniels about the time it took him to plead guilty, and said her words to the court “had a profound impact on him”.

The barrister said the collision occurred when Akins was having difficulties in his personal life and his marriage had now come to an end, although he continues to co-parent his three young children.

Mr Pole said: “He’s fundamentally a decent, honest and hard-working individual.”

He said the player had “retained the support of his employers” but added this may not continue with an immediate custodial sentence.

Jailing Akins and disqualifying him from driving for 12 months, Judge Menary said: “It is plain to me you are someone who is highly unlikely to trouble the courts again.”

He said there was strong personal mitigation but concluded: “Against that, it seems to be the appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody.”

The judge said he accepted Akins’s remorse was genuine but also said his failure to admit his guilt at an earlier stage prolonged Mrs Daniel’s “heartache and grief”.

Akins has played for Mansfield Town since 2022 and was previously with clubs including Huddersfield Town, Tranmere Rovers and Burton Albion.

In a statement issued through West Yorkshire Police, Mrs Daniel said: “Three years of hell, three years of avoidance and adding further to my trauma has finally come to a close today with Akins’s sentencing.

“Never being allowed to fully live the reality of Adrian’s absence because of the farce Akins has made of the justice system and the chances offered to him, has finally been put to bed and this man is no more deserving of any further of my time or concern.

“No power is held over me or my family anymore and no justice will ever bring Adrian back.

“This could all have been resolved sooner and that is the further insult to injury and makes a mockery of any remorse that Akins offers for his actions.”