'A little ray of sunshine' - Family of 20-month-old who died following collision near Sleaford release tribute to him

Finley Baker died two days after the multi-vehicle incident on the A17 near the Holdingham roundabout on March 19, 2025.

Last month, Hristo Iliev, 32, of Hide Close, Boston, was jailed after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving as a result of the collision. He was also sentenced for causing serious injury by dangerous driving, a charge relating to Finley’s mother, who was the driver of the car. The court was told Iliev had been using TikTok ahead of the incident.

This morning, Lincolnshire Police released a statement from Finley’s parents, Chloe and Daniel, a week after what would have been his third birthday.

It reads: “On Sunday, July 9, 2023, Finley Thomas Baker entered the world like a little ray of sunshine. He was the missing piece of our family puzzle, so so loved and so wanted.

“He brought our family so much happiness and we miss him more than words can say. He slotted perfectly into our family and we felt completely fulfilled.

“As Finley grew, he became kind, loving, curious and brought joy to everyone he met and everywhere he went. He had the most beautiful smile and his bright blue eyes would light up the room.

“He loved and looked up to his big brother very much. One of their favourite things to do together was dance. There was always music playing in our house and the boys would be found holding hands and dancing around the room laughing together. We loved watching the brotherly bond that was developing between them and the future they were going to have together.

“Finley was only 20 months old but he already had such a big personality. He filled our house with laughter, fun and perfect chaos.

“He had a great love of dogs and loved to see them when we were out on a walk. If someone was kind enough to stop and let him stroke one, his little face would light up and he would laugh when the dog wriggled under his touch. Finley loved the outdoors and would often pick up his shoes and coat and bring them to us to let us know he would like to go out.

“Another of Finley’s great joys in life was books. He would enjoy looking through his books by himself everyday and bring books to others to read to him. He was just starting to talk more and loved pointing at all of the pictures and telling us what they were.

“If Finley wasn’t dancing with his brother or looking at books, he’d be found riding his indoor balance bike around the house, waving at everyone as he whizzed by them. His bike was a gift from us for his first birthday and we were amazed at how quickly he learnt to ride it. We often joked that Finley would soon be better at riding bikes than us and now we’ll never know if that would have been true.

“Finley followed in his big brother’s shoes and LOVED his food. His favourites were raspberries, watermelon, orzo pasta and his mummy’s homemade vegetable soup. His love of food even went as far as him doing his best to help carry the weekly food delivery from the front door to the kitchen every week. He would delight in trying to find the raspberries in the bags as quickly as possible! These everyday moments are the hardest without Finley.

“Some of Finley’s other happiest moments were spent at his wonderful nursery, a second home for him. He always came running out with a big smile and the staff would tell us what a good boy he’d been and how much dancing he’d done that day! The ‘Cha Cha Slide’ was his favourite song at nursery.

“Appalling choices made the day we lost Finley mean we never get to hear his little voice again. We don’t get to take him to his first day of school, watch him in his first school nativity or sports day. We won’t ever know who he would have become as an adult, we can only guess what kind of future he would have had. We never get to see him get married or have a family of his own. His entire life was stolen from him for the most senseless of reasons.

“No parent should ever have to outlive their child, let alone lose them in the most horrific way like we did. It splits your life into two, the before and the after and we wouldn’t wish for anyone to live in this after.

“The Finley shaped hole that has been left in both our lives and hearts will never be filled. Knowing how full of life he was and how much he still had to experience in life, makes his death impossible to accept. We will forever continue to honour and remember him for the beautiful little soul that he was.”

The statement continues with thanks for those who came to the family’s aid on the day and in the months that have followed.

“Daniel and I would like to thank the members of the public that stopped and helped myself and the boys on that day back in March,” it said. “We will be forever grateful for your presence, bravery and kindness in our desperate time of need. Your compassion in that moment will never ever be forgotten. We are deeply grateful to all of the emergency services who attended that day for their swift response, professionalism and tireless efforts during such a devastating time.

“We would also like to thank Lincolnshire Police and the Serious Collisions Unit for everything they have done over the last 15 months to support us as a family and to ensure that we got justice for Finley.”

The statement closed with a request from the family for privacy at this difficult time.