LONDON- On Friday, British prosecutors announced that they have decided to charge the U.S. diplomat’s wife over the car crash that killed a 19-year old boy. They seek her extradition and this is a decision that ‘disappointed’ Washington.
19-year old Harry Dunn’s motorcycle collided with the car driven by Anne Sacoolas near an air force base in Northamptonshire. 42-year old Sacoolas was offered diplomatic immunity and left Britain not long after the accident. This set off a dispute between Washington and London on whether she should return for the investigation.
Sacoolas said she would voluntarily not return to face a potential jail sentence.
On Friday, the Crown Prosecution Service in Britain said that it would charge Sacoolas with the charge of causing death by driving dangerously and that legal proceedings are underway.
The decision is up to the interior ministry (Home Office) to see whether the formal extradition of Sacoolas through diplomatic channels is required.
Dominic Raab, British foreign minister, welcomed the decision to charge Sacoolas and was quoted saying, ” I hope that Anne Sacoolas will now realise the right thing to do is to come back to the UK and cooperate with the criminal justice process.”
Amy Jeffress, Sacoolas’ lawyer said that her client would not be going back to Britain to face trial.
Dunn’s case came into the international spotlight in October when his parents met with U.S. President Donald Trump in what he described as a “beautiful but sad” occasion. Dunn’s parents declined Trump’s suggestion to meet Sacoolas who was in the building at the time.
After the crash, initially, Sacoolas cooperated with the local police, however later she said that she had diplomatic immunity.
14 years is Britain’s maximum jail sentence for death by dangerous driving.
Charlotte Charles, Dunn’s mother, was in tears on finding out that the charges had been brought as it meant that she had kept her promise to get justice for her son.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.