Harry Dunn crash: US diplomat's wife accused of killing teen in car crash set to appear in British court via videolink
LONDON, UK: The wife of a US diplomat who left Britain after being involved in an accident that claimed the life of a 19-year-old teen, is set to appear in British court via video link on Thursday, September 29, confirmed her legal team.
Anne Sacoolas is accused of killing a young motorcyclist named Harry Dunn with her dangerous driving outside a United States military base in Northamptonshire in August 2019. The 45-year-old woman is going to make a virtual appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, her legal firm Arnold and Porter confirmed to CNN on Monday. “Yes, Anne will be virtual. Will be very brief as this one is procedural,” the spokesperson for the legal team said.
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This court hearing is the first step toward a potential trial against Sacoolas. During this hearing, she will be asked to identify herself and will be appointed a date for the higher court hearing. This hearing came after Dunn’s family members waited for three years for their kid’s case to be heard at a UK court for the first time.
The crown prosecution service initially scheduled the first hearing of the case on January 18, 2022, but the hearing was pushed ahead as the date was vacated to “enable ongoing discussions.” The CPS on Monday confirmed that the case was scheduled to be heard on Thursday Sept 29. Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles and father Tim Dunn are expected to attend the hearing with his twin brother Niall.
Sacoolas had earlier admitted to driving dangerously on the wrong side of the road outside RAF Croughton in England, where her husband was working as a United States diplomat. She was able to leave the United Kingdom just 19 days after the incident under the principle of diplomatic immunity. Last year, her personal attorney Amy Jeffress released a statement saying her client must remain in the United States and suggested she could carry out some form of community service in America.
To get justice for their son, Dunn’s parents pressed UK politicians to get Sacoolas to face UK law but the nation's appeal to extradite Sacoolas was declined by US authorities. In an interview with the BBC last year, then-Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said “the path is clear for the legal authorities in the UK to approach Anne Sacoolas’s lawyers – without any problem from the US government – to see whether some kind of virtual trial or process could allow some accountability and some solace and some justice for the Dunn family.” The Crown Prosecution Service also released a statement saying, "We remind everyone that Mrs. Sacoolas has a right to a fair trial and there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice any proceedings."