Lucas Akins: Mansfield Town footballer jailed after causing death of cyclist in Huddersfield crash

Leeds Crown Court heard on Thursday that Akins, 36, pulled out from Crosland Factory Lane into the path of Adrian Daniel, who was cycling down Huddersfield Road on his way home from work in March 2022. The Sky Bet League One player was driving his seven-year-old daughter to a piano lesson in a Mercedes G-Wagon at the time.

Daniel, 33, suffered catastrophic head injuries and died 10 days later in hospital. The collision was captured on the cyclist’s headcam.

Akins, a Grenada international, admitted causing death by careless driving at an earlier hearing. Prosecutors said he failed to stop at the give-way sign. “It was a difficult junction to emerge from,” said Carmel Pearson, prosecuting, “but the defendant did not stop at the give-way sign.” Akins told police he did not see the cyclist approaching.

Judge Alex Menary told the court he had considered suspending the sentence, but decided only an immediate prison term was appropriate. “Against that, it seems to be the appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody,” he said.

The judge disqualified Akins from driving for 12 months, adding: “It is plain to me you are someone who is highly unlikely to trouble the courts again.” He acknowledged Akins’s remorse was genuine but noted his delay in admitting guilt prolonged the grief of Daniel’s widow. “Your failure to admit your guilt at an earlier stage prolonged Savanna Daniel’s heartache and grief.”

In a statement read to the court, Daniel’s wife, Savanna, described her husband as “an adrenaline junkie” devoted to her and her daughter. The couple had married the year before the fatal crash.

“It has been like hell and a nightmare I’m not waking up from,” she said. “There was no reason for Adrian to be killed that way.” She added: “This was too simple a collision to have taken a life.”

Savanna said she didn’t want Akins’s children to grow up without their father but criticised him for failing to plead guilty earlier. “We do not need any more lives to be destroyed from this.”

Defending, Tim Pole said: “I want to publicly apologise on his behalf. The fact he caused the death of Daniel continues to dominate his thoughts and it’s a burden he will carry for the rest of his life.” Pole said Akins had been going through personal difficulties at the time and now co-parents his three children following the end of his marriage.

“He’s fundamentally a decent, honest and hard-working individual,” Pole added, adding Akins still had the support of his club, although that may not continue due to the custodial sentence.

Akins joined Mansfield in 2022 and has previously played for Huddersfield Town, Tranmere Rovers, and Burton Albion.