A footballer serving a prison sentence for causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving has been named to his club’s squad for the 2025-26 season.
Mansfield Town striker Lucas Akins, 36, hit Adrian Daniel, 33, after he pulled out of a T-junction in his £200,000 Mercedes after failing to stop at a give-way sign in March 2022.
The footballer had his then seven-month-old and seven-year-old children in his Mercedes G350 Station Wagon at the time, as he took the eldest to a piano lesson.
Head-cam footage from Mr Daniel, who cycled the same route to and from work every day, showed Akins pull out slowly from Crossland Factory Lane onto Huddersfield Road directly into his path, giving the cyclist ‘no time to brake’.
Daniel died 10 days after suffering a ‘catastrophic’ head injury, with Akins pleading guilty in April of this year[1].
But as per the BBC[2], Akins is thought to be available for release after serving half of his 14-month sentence, which could see him return to the pitch before Christmas[3].
Lucas Akins could return to playing for Mansfield Town before the end of the season after being named in the club’s squad list
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The 36-year-old is currently serving a 14-month jail sentence for causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving
Akins, who has played for Mansfield since 2022, is still listed on the club’s website’s squad list, despite his contract allegedly expiring at the end of the 2024-25 season.
The forward’s name is also listed on the official EFL website, which features all registered players for its clubs.
‘The club will review Lucas’ position as and when he is released from custody and will make no further comment at this time,’ a brief statement from the club clarified.
There is nothing that would stop Akins from returning to his playing career should the club wish to play him again, although the player will serve the remainder of his sentence on license, and is in the midst of a two-year driving ban.
Throughout his trial in Spring, Akins continued to turn out for the Stags, starting a match against Wigan Athletic just hours[4] after making his initial guilty plea.
Daniel’s widow of just seven months, Savannah, criticised Akins for failing to plead guilty earlier amid her ‘three years of hell’ in the wake of her late husband’s death.
But she went on to stress that she did not wish to for Akins’ family to experience the same misery she has since Daniel’s passing in her moving victim impact statement.
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‘His wife and children shouldn’t have to live the life we have since that day,’ Savannah told the court. ‘We do not need any more lives to be destroyed from this.’
Akins received the support of Mansfield throughout the trial, with manager Nigel Clough providing a reference for the judge.
Akins came through the youth academy at Huddersfield and made his debut for them in 2007.
His career has since taken him to Northwich Victoria, Hamilton Academical, Partick Thistle, Tranmere Rovers, Stevenage, Burton Albion, and latterly Mansfield.
The Stags currently sit 11th in the League One standings after three wins in their first seven matches of their campaign.
References
- ^ Akins pleading guilty in April of this year (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)
- ^ Christmas (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ starting a match against Wigan Athletic just hours (www.dailymail.co.uk)