Dunn’s alleged killer open to virtual trial
HARRY DUNN’S alleged killer has signalled her willingness to discuss going on “virtual trial” with the UK authorities and admitted to driving on the wrong side of the road for 20 seconds before the teenager was struck.
In a statement issued through her lawyers, Anne Sacoolas, 43, said she was otherwise driving cautiously and below the speed limit before the 19-year-old was fatally struck while riding his motorbike last August.
The accident occurred at “the crest of a small hill” outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, “so Anne could not see Harry approaching”, her lawyers said last night.
Mrs Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official, was charged with causing Harry’s death by dangerous driving. She claimed diplomatic immunity, allowing her to return to the US.
In December last year, her lawyers announced she would not return to the UK voluntarily.
Mrs Sacoolas’s lawyers hit out at what they describe as “the mischaracterisations of what happened on that tragic day”, insisting that she remained at the scene until an ambulance arrived and only left the UK when she was cleared to do so by the US embassy and the Foreign Office.
Last night, Harry’s parents, through Radd Seiger, the family’s spokesman, said Mrs Sacoolas’s version of events “should not be aired in any form other than a court of law”.
“Once again, they invite her to do the right thing and return to the UK to answer to the charges laid against her,” they added.
Mrs Sacoolas’s lawyers said she “did everything she could to assist Harry”.
“After the accident, she ran from her car and tried to help him. Anne then
saw another motorist approach and flagged her down for more support.
“The other motorist immediately called for the emergency services and Anne made calls to alert the police from the nearby air force base.
“The base police arrived quickly and assisted Harry. Tragically, it took over 40 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and nearly two hours passed before Harry was admitted to the hospital.”
Mrs Sacoolas has been and remains willing to discuss a resolution “including
the possibility of virtual proceedings, with the UK authorities”, her lawyers said.
“Anne has never tried to avoid being held accountable for the tragic accident and she would like nothing more than to find a path forward and to provide the family some measure of peace,” they added.
Mrs Sacoolas and her family had been living in the UK for just three weeks at the time of the collision.
Describing how the accident unfolded, her lawyers said: “Immediately prior to the accident, Anne made a left turn, on an isolated road with no other cars, and instinctively began driving in the right lane. She was on the wrong side of the road for approximately 20 seconds before the accident. She was otherwise driving cautiously and below the speed limit.
“Immediately after the crash, Anne attempted to help Harry. She waved down another car.
“She stayed at the scene and spoke with authorities who arrived to assist. She met with the Northamptonshire
Police at her home the following day. She provided a voluntary interview several weeks later. She has fully cooperated with the investigation.”
The Sacoolas family left the UK three weeks later “after the US authorities affirmed her diplomatic immunity and determined that it would be difficult for her and her family to remain in the small Croughton community under these tragic circumstances”, the statement continued.
“The US embassy informed the Foreign Office of this decision and instructed Anne to return home, and she and her family then flew back on a commercial flight.”
“Anne is devastated by this tragic accident and continues to grieve deeply for Harry’s family,” according to her lawyers.
Following a meeting at the Crown Prosecution Service’s headquarters on Wednesday, Harry’s family said the Director of Public Prosecutions had ruled that Mrs Sacoolas did not have diplomatic immunity.
Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, previously concluded that Mrs Sacoolas did have diplomatic immunity but, according to Radd Seiger, the family’s spokesman, the DPP’S legal team has now concluded that the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office should not have allowed the suspect to leave the country.
Harry’s parents launched a civil case against Mrs Sacoolas in the US courts this week, having given up hopes of her co-operation.
The family accused her of making no attempt to “resolve the dispute without having to go to court”. Mr Seiger said the teenager’s parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, filed a civil complaint in a court in Virginia.
She was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service in December but an extradition request submitted by the Home Office was rejected by the US.