Mansfield Town player Lucas Akins has been sentenced to a 14-month imprisonment for causing the death of a cyclist he hit as he pulled out of a junction in West Yorkshire.
The 38-year-old League One player collided with the cyclist Adrian Daniel, 33, who sustained head injuries and died in the hospital 10 days later in 2022.
Mr Akins was sentenced on Thursday at the Leeds Crown Court and pleaded guilty previously to causing the death by irresponsible or reckless driving.
Judge Alex Menary said he had considered suspending the sentence but concluded that “only an immediate sentence of 14 months was appropriate.”
He also banned Mr Akins from driving for 12 months.
Prosecutor Carmel Pearson told the court the junction was “difficult to emerge from,” but Mr Akins “did not stop at the give-way sign.”
In a statement read to the court, Mr Daniel’s widow, Savanna, described her husband as “an adrenaline junkie” who cycled to work daily and was devoted to her and her daughter from a previous relationship.
She said, “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.”
She criticised Mr Akins for not pleading guilty earlier and expressed frustration that a simple and avoidable collision had taken a life, while also acknowledging that she did not want his children to grow up without their father.
Defending Mr Akins, barrister Tim Pole said his client was burdened by the knowledge that he had caused Mr Daniel’s death, adding that the footballer had been struggling with personal issues at the time and is now separated from his wife, though he continued to co-parent their three children.
Akins has played for Mansfield Town since 2022, previously representing lower English tiers Huddersfield, Tranmere, and Burton.
Mansfield Town said it acknowledged the court’s decision and extended its “sincere and deepest condolences” to Mr Daniel’s family, adding that the club was reviewing its position regarding Mr Akins and would make no further comment.
