Fury as wife of US diplomat leaves UK after crash that killed teen
THE parents of a teenager killed in a car crash say they are ‘utterly broken’ after the American suspect left the country under diplomatic protection, it was reported last night.
Harry Dunn, 19, died after his motorbike was struck by a car being driven on the wrong side of the road in Northamptonshire.
The unnamed suspect is the wife of a US envoy who claimed diplomatic immunity after the accident.
The head-on crash, which happened near RAF Croughton, an American spy base, left Mr Dunn with multiple injuries. He later died in hospital.
The US embassy confirmed the family had left the UK, Sky News reported. Mr Dunn’s mother, Charlotte Charles, said the family were unable to grieve because there had been ‘no justice’.
She added: ‘Everyone loved him, we’re utterly broken inside and out. Everything hurts day and night, it’s an effort to do anything. I ache from it, every limb, every internal organ hurts.
‘We don’t know how we can start to grieve for him. We have nothing. No justice. We have nothing to put our minds at rest that she’s even remorseful.’
Mr Dunn’s father, Tim Dunn, said: ‘We’re disgusted, appalled. How could she be having this cloak wrapped around her? I’m angry that someone could do this and then get on a plane and go. I can’t believe she’s living with herself.’
Following their son’s death, Mr Dunn’s parents received a letter from Woody Johnson, US Ambassador to the UK, expressing ‘profound sadness’.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: ‘I wish to offer my condolences to the family affected by this tragic incident. I have called the US Ambassador to express the UK’s disappointment with their decision, and to urge the embassy to reconsider it.’
Superintendent Sarah Johnson, from Northamptonshire Police, said: ‘We had met the suspect in the presence of legal advisers to identify the best way forward.
‘During the course of that meeting we were aware that diplomatic immunity had been raised as an issue. We then made an immediate application for a waiver for us to undertake further investigations and interview. Unfortunately we were latterly advised that the waiver had been declined and the suspect had left the UK.’
A campaign group called Justice For Harry has been set up on social media, aiming to raise £10,000 ‘to support our search for justice’.
The US embassy in London said: ‘We express our deepest sympathies and offer condolences to the family of the deceased in the tragic August 27 traffic accident involving a vehicle driven by the spouse of a US diplomat assigned to the United Kingdom.
‘Embassy officials are in close contact with the appropriate British officials on this matter. Due to security and privacy considerations, we cannot confirm the identity of the individuals involved, but we can confirm the family has left the UK.’
‘We’re disgusted and appalled’