Footballer Rai Vloet is facing two and a half years in prison after he withdrew his appeal against his sentence for causing the death of a four-year-old boy in a car crash.

The 29-year-old former Heracles Almelo midfielder was driving at 193 km/h when he rammed the back of another car on the A4 motorway near Hoofddorp in November 2021. The victim, Gio Roos, from Zoetermeer, was sitting on the back seat.

Vloet was taking a group of friends from a party in Amsterdam to Rotterdam when the crash happened. He had had “two or three glasses of strong drink” before getting behind the wheel, his trial was told.

The player moved to Kazakhstan Premier League club FC Astana in 2022 and later played for Russian side FC Ural Yekaterinburg.

He was not in court for his sentencing in April 2023 because the Netherlands has no extradition treaty with Russia.

After FC Ural were relegated in July Vloet was released from his contract and returned to the Netherlands. His lawyer, Erik Thomas, said he had accepted he must serve his sentence.

The public prosecution service said it was dropping its own appeal in response to Vloet’s decision, drawing a line under the case.

“With the withdrawal of the defendant’s appeal and after considering the interests of the relatives of the victim, the prosecution service has decided not to pursue its appeal,” the department said in a statement. “As a result the sentence imposed by the court is final.”