The mother of a 12-year-old boy who was killed in a hit-and-run has said she will “not stop until we get justice” as police continue to hunt for the suspect three months later.
Keaton Slater was struck down by a black BMW on Radford Road in Coventry while on his way home from school shortly after 4:30pm on Friday 14 June.
Paramedics arrived but Keaton was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.
Crimestoppers have put up a £10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of Dolars Aleksanders, who police have said is the prime suspect in the investigation.
Keaton’s family believe the 21-year-old has fled to his native Latvia while he is wanted on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
As police continue to try and trace Aleksanders, Keaton’s mother Louise and father Clint have set up a petition which is calling on the UK government to ensure the suspect is extradited from his home country.
Speaking to Sky News presenter Sarah-Jane Mee on her show The UK Tonight, Mrs Slater said: “The police have been informing us of little, simple things, like they know where he is, but they’re not allowed to tell us. And that was two months ago.
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“If they know where he is, you would think he would be in custody, but no, nothing… So we said, what can we do as a family to take this further ourselves, because we don’t feel we’re getting much help.”
The petition has so far been signed by more than 60,000 people.
The family have said once the petition has reached 100,000 signatures they want to take it to the government to help encourage them to pursue Aleksander’s extradition.
Although Mr and Mrs Slater know the suspect’s family are from Latvia, they don’t know he is definitely there.
Mrs Slater said the Crown Prosecution Service has told her they have enough evidence against Aleksander to “take the case further” but police aren’t able to tell her where he is.
She became emotional as she said: “If he isn’t [in Latvia] than that’s fine… but I won’t stop until we get justice… we need to get this [petition] done so I can get justice for my son.”
Mr Slater said he believes police are “obviously working hard behind the scenes” but the force is “not allowed to tell us anything until they’ve got it concrete”.
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He added that trying to get justice for Keaton is “taking its toll” on the family, adding: “We’re trying to keep strong. To get the message out there and get [the suspect] caught.”
The car that struck Keaton was travelling at 80mph and the family fears another person could be killed in a similar collision if there is no conviction over his death.
Asked how she felt in the days after the fatal collision, Mrs Slater said: “You’re still expecting him to walk in the door and say ‘I’m back”… every day is like Groundhog Day, you wake up numb and you keep thinking ‘he’s going to walk through the door.”
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West Midlands Police believe four people were in the car at the time of the crash.
A black BMW that was found abandoned in New Arley, Warwickshire, on the evening of the crash was forensically examined.
In June, West Midlands police detained a 56-year-old man on suspicion of assisting an offender and a 21-year-old was also arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
Both men were bailed pending further inquiries and a third man, who was voluntarily interviewed, was released under investigation.
