US diplomat's wife who fled UK after killing teen in car crash drove 400 yards on the wrong side before colliding with him
A US diplomat's wife responsible for the death of a UK teenager by driving on the wrong side of the road and who later fled the country by claiming diplomatic immunity has been identified. MEAWW previously reported that Harry Dunn, 19, suffered multiple injuries in an August 27 collision outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire -- a US intelligence hub in Britain -- and later died at the hospital.
Now, the suspect has been identified as 42-year-old Anne Sacoolas, who had only arrived in Britain with her husband Jonathan and their three children in early August, a few weeks before the fatal accident, and escaped back to the US despite facing charges of death by dangerous driving.
Following the crash, CCTV footage obtained by the Northamptonshire Police showed Sacoolas pulling out of the RAF base on the wrong side of the road, and traveling some 350 to 400 yards on the wrong side of the road before colliding with Dunn.
His mother, Charlotte Charles, revealed that the day after the 19-year-old's death, the authorities told her that Sacoolas had admitted culpability in the death and assured them she had no plans of leaving the UK in "the near future." They also informed her that the issue of "diplomatic immunity" had been raised but that they had attempted to obtain a waiver from the US embassy required for an arrest.
However, that application was rejected, and Sacoolas had fled the country even as they prepared to file the charges with the Crown Prosecution Service, with government sources stating that the 42-year-old and her family "was put on a plane" within hours of learning about the possible prosecution.
Charles, who lost Dunn before she got one last chance to see him at the hospital and who learned of Sacoolas' departure on the day of the 19-year-old's funeral, said she and her family are struggling to cope with the tragedy and want the mother-of-three to come back to the UK for answers.
"We are trying to get some closure - all we want is to meet her and ask her to come back," she said. "It is not much to ask. We are a family in complete ruin. We are utterly broken inside and out. We are utterly shocked and appalled that somebody is allowed just to get on a plane and go home and avoid our justice system."
"Just come home," she pleaded. "Come back to us. Come back to the UK. We're not a horrible family. We're a usual UK family that just needs to put a face to what we have now as a name. Talk to her, find out how she's feeling. She's got to be suffering as well - she's a mum."
Dunn's father, Tim, called Sacoolas' behavior "appalling" and called into question if diplomatic immunity applied in cases like this. "We've looked into this, and the immunity for the diplomat is to keep them safe... not for something like this where they have hurt somebody," he said. "I don't see how that can be - how they can hurt somebody and just leave. It doesn't make sense to me."
"We would ask Boris Johnson himself, if he hasn't already, to call President Trump and urge him to right this wrong," Charles said. "It's inhumane what has happened to us. Please – I'm begging you. Please help us. We won't be able to grieve and move on and try put the pieces of our shattered lives together until we get justice for Harry."