Finley Baker, 20 months old, died after a driver identified as Christo Iliev crashed into the back of the car carrying him and his mother, Chloe Baker, on March 19, 2025, as she drove home from a school activity.
Investigators found Iliev had been looking at his phone for roughly seven minutes before the crash, repeatedly unlocking the device to watch TikTok clips, open the Apple TV app, and clear notifications.
Traffic reconstruction experts determined he braked only a few meters before impact, making the collision unavoidable.
The force of the crash pushed the mother’s car into a vehicle stopped ahead of it. Finley suffered severe head injuries and was airlifted to hospital, where his parents made the decision to withdraw life support two days later, holding him as he died.
A court in Lincoln sentenced Iliev to more than 11 years in prison and banned him from driving for 10.5 years, after which he will need to pass a stringent retest before regaining his license. Prosecutors noted Iliev had previously been caught using his phone while driving, a year before the fatal crash. He initially denied using his phone at the time of the collision, but a digital analysis of the device contradicted his account.
