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A man will be spending more than 10 years in prison after he killed a 20-month-old toddler in a car accident in New England while he was watching TikTok videos.
Lincolnshire police said in a statement that the child, who has been identified as Finley Baker, was injured in the three-vehicle collision on a Lincolnshire road on March 19, 2025. Baker died two days later from his injuries.
More than one year after the fatal crash, driver Hristo Iliev was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison on Thursday, June 11. The sentencing came after he pleaded guilty to one charge of causing death by dangerous driving and one charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, according to the police department’s statement.
Following the crash, an investigation was launched into the matter and it was revealed that Iliev, 32, was on his phone uploading and downloading videos on TikTok and Apple TV in the moments leading up to the collision.
Police examined his electronic devices, and they learned that he was watching a video on TikTok in the moments just before his vehicle crashed into a car in front of him that was approaching a roundabout in slow-moving traffic.
Baker was in the car with his 8-year-old sibling and their mother. After Iliev ran into their vehicle, the family’s car crashed into the car in front of them.
Police said that Baker was properly placed and restrained in the backseat of the car.
The young boy’s mother, Chloe Baker, also suffered injuries and seriously hurt her shoulder during the crash, according to police. Chloe’s injuries were so severe that she had to eventually undergo major reconstructive surgery.
It is not currently clear if Chloe’s other child or the driver of the third vehicle were injured in the collision.
“This collision was due to the dangerous driving of Iliev when he selfishly paid no attention to his driving as he watched videos on his devices. Those actions cost a young toddler his life and seriously injured another, destroying lives in a way which can never be undone,” Detective Sergeant James Perring from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit said in a statement.
Perring continued, “The importance of concentration and not being distracted cannot be overstated. This was a wholly preventable collision, and I feel nothing but disappointment for the way he has so pointlessly destroyed lives. I would implore anybody thinking of behaving in the same way never to do so.”
Finley’s parents have kept his memory alive following the crash and have documented their journey for justice against Iliev, who was originally from Boston.
The victim’s family has created fundraisers shared via social media in his honor, in which they raised money that they donated to the Lincolnshire Air Ambulance.
