An MP says she has written to the attorney general seeking a review of the sentence given to a speeding driver who killed a 12-year-old boy and fled to Latvia.
On Friday, Aleksanders Dolars, 23, was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison for causing the death of Keaton Slater by dangerous driving in Coventry in June 2024.
Dolars evaded capture for Keaton's death for more than two years by fleeing to Latvia and he was finally brought to justice following a determined campaign by Keaton's parents.
Their MP, Taiwo Owatemi, has supported them and has written to the attorney general to suggest the sentence is reviewed and ask whether a life sentence might have been appropriate.
Judges use guidelines set by the Sentencing Council, external to assess the seriousness of the offence based on culpability.
Warwick Crown Court heard Dolars had been driving at 75-76mph in a 30mph zone when he struck the schoolboy, killing him instantly.
Judge Kristina Montgomery KC told him his speed had been "excessive" and added: "Your selfish and dangerous driving took his life."
But speaking after they left court, the family said they were unhappy with the sentence.
"They gave him the maximum they could, but it's not enough is it?" his father, Clint, said.
His mother, Louise, said that as Dolars would only serve two-thirds of his sentence in prison, he would be out in six years.
"I know afterwards he can't drive," she added. "That's good to know – he's not going to be on the roads doing it to another family.
"To be in prison for six years, I think he should've got longer. My baby only had 12 years on this planet."
In her letter to Attorney General Ellie Reeves, Owatemi said she was asking if the legal threshold had been met for the case to be referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, external.
She had sat with the family during the sentencing and said it had been "heartbreaking" to watch the footage of the crash.
Owatemi said: "I make this request in light of the pain Keaton's family have endured, Dolars's decision to leave the scene and evade accountability for more than two years and the fact that his driving ban is substantially longer than his prison sentence."
She said she shared the family's concern that just over six years in custody failed to "reflect the seriousness of what Dolars did or the injustice they have endured".
In her letter she suggested the sentence should "make clear that dangerous driving carries serious consequences".
She also asked whether sufficient weight was given to Dolars's decision to flee the country, Keaton's vulnerability as a child pedestrian, the speed which Dolars was driving at and his failure to stop or call for help.
"I ask you to consider whether the court fully considered the sentencing powers available to it, including whether the statutory criteria for a life sentence were met," she said.
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