UK prosecutors to charge U.S. diplomat's wife over fatal car crash

By Andrew MacAskill

 

FILE PHOTO: Tim Dunn, the father of British teen Harry Dunn who was killed in a car crash on his motorcycle, allegedly by the wife of an American diplomat, arrives for a news conference in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., October 14, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British prosecutors said on Friday they had decided to charge the wife of a U.S. diplomat over a fatal car crash in England and to seek her extradition, a decision that "disappointed" Washington.

 

Harry Dunn, 19, died after his motorcycle was in a collision with a car driven by Anne Sacoolas near RAF Croughton, an air force base in the English county of Northamptonshire that is used by the U.S. military.

 

Sacoolas, 42, was given diplomatic immunity and left Britain shortly after the accident, setting off a dispute between London and Washington over whether she should return to face investigation.

 

She said she would not return voluntarily to face a potential jail sentence.

 

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Friday it would charge Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving and had started legal proceedings.

 

But it said it was up to the Home Office (interior ministry) to decide whether to seek Sacoolas' extradition formally through diplomatic channels.

 

British foreign minister Dominic Raab welcomed the charging decision, adding in a statement: "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."

 

The U.S. State department expressed disappointment.

 

"We are disappointed by today's announcement and fear that it will not bring a resolution closer," a State Department spokesperson said.

 

"The United States has been clear that, at the time the accident occurred, and for the duration of her stay in the UK, the driver in this case had status that conferred diplomatic immunities."

 

Sacoolas' lawyer Amy Jeffress said her would not be going back to Britain to face trial.

 

"Anne will not return voluntarily to the United Kingdom to face a potential jail sentence for what was a terrible but unintentional accident," Jeffress said in a statement.

 

'BEAUTIFUL' BUT 'SAD'

 

Dunn's case gained international prominence when his parents met U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in October, an occasion he described as "beautiful" but "sad".

 

Trump hoped to persuade them meet Sacoolas, who was in the building at the same time, but they declined.

 

Sacoolas initially cooperated with local police after the crash, but later said she had diplomatic immunity.

 

The White House and the U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

The maximum jail sentence in Britain for causing death by dangerous driving is 14 years.

 

Dunn's mother, Charlotte Charles, broke down in tears after finding out charges had been brought, saying it meant she had kept a promise to her son to get him justice.

 

"We had no idea it was going to be this hard and it would take this long, but we really do feel it is a huge step towards that promise to Harry," she told reporters.

 

Edward Grange, a partner at the criminal law firm Corker Binning, said Sacoolas could voluntarily attend a hearing in Britain and that if she failed to appear, it could lead to an extradition request.

 

"The prospect of an extradition request succeeding remains to be seen, particularly in light of comment from the Trump Administration that it is very reluctant to allow its citizens to be tried abroad," he said.

 

(Additional reporting by Michael Holden and Sarah Young; Editing by Timothy Heritage)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-21

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uh oh... the ingredients are now complete - for a midnight middle of bridge prisoner swap!

 

 President makes sweet offerings

 

Offer the Woman - for JulianA 

 

Edited December 21, 20196 yr by Rimmer
Copyright picture removed

 

probably not a wise and fruitful move by British red-tapers

 

Being American doesn't put her above the law

Respect to the Brits for doing the right thing, and shame on the Americans for displaying the uber arrogant posturing that most nations' people loathe them for

52 minutes ago, melvinmelvin said:

 

probably not a wise and fruitful move by British red-tapers

 

Why not.....she killed a young man

I wonder what she’d feel like if the same had happened to one of her kids in a foreign country and the culprit said “I’m not gonna come back to face a potential prison sentence for an unfortunate accident!”

 

Accident or not, you’re responsible Miss Diplomat! Therefore you need to bear the consequences! 

I hope she has a miserable Christmas.

Well, if she is charged, she will be put on the Interpol list. Somnamna!!!

I wonder how many people would voluntarily go to jail for an accident  when they have a legal way of staying out. 
 

A young man is dead and his parents lives have been shattered, that will never change. Yes, the parents may get some comfort from the driver’s incarceration but at what cost? 
 

I think an argument can be made to discontinue diplomatic immunity, but not to pick and choose where it should be applied. 

 

This is going to turn into Vern Unsworth, second act. The young man was killed in an accident caused by the woman’s actions and had sh been just an ordinary Serviceman’s wife she would have been charged and probably sentenced to minimal punishment. Due to her Husbands diplomatic status she would have been made to leave the UK by American authorities, not flee as so many media hacks reported. The parents are grieving but their grief has been magnified out of all proportion, flying to America, meeting Trump, refusing to meet the woman , why not let her say sorry face to face, what do they want ? . The result is going to be another court case asking for millions in damages spurred on by the media. The woman who caused the accident has been vilified by the usual media and has no options open to her, this is going to drag on again to the delight of the Lawyers.

 

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The U.S. State department expressed disappointment.

"We are disappointed by today's announcement and fear that it will not bring a resolution closer," a State Department spokesperson said.

"Instead, we would be happy if the Brits would just take one for the team, in that case high-fives from the President to all concerned parties will be in order. After all, we have to continue to keep our privileged few exempt from ordinary laws, don't we?!?", the State Department continued.

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

 

The U.S. State department expressed disappointment.

 

"We are disappointed by today's announcement and fear that it will not bring a resolution closer," a State Department spokesperson said.

Really? And what exactly will bring a resolution for the family of Harry Dunn?

 

Her actions led to his death and she should face the consequences of them.

Edited December 21, 20196 yr by Bluespunk

I did hear some argument on the news stating that "she no longer has dip immunity as she has returned to USA" and my head spun... say what? So if she went to posting in Canada, then she have it again? Oy!

I agree she should face the consequences for her actions & I understand why immunity is important.

BTW have they caught the guy or asked for extradition of Libyan who shot dead London policewoman from "safety" of Libyan embassy back in '84 (I think that year? Seems that is more egregious than bad driving leading to death.

3 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Really? And what exactly will bring a resolution for the family of Harry Dunn?

@BluespunkOf course, there is no resolution

 

1 hour ago, Thechook said:

Being American doesn't put her above the law

@ThechookNope, but having diplomatic immunity puts her above the law just like any British diplomat and their family members, too.

 

52 minutes ago, Somtamnication said:

Well, if she is charged, she will be put on the Interpol list. Somnamna!!!

@SomtamnicationNo big deal. The US has a few of those cases and they simply give them new identities if those people need to travel.

 

4 minutes ago, No1 said:

Of course, there is no resolution

Good, so we agree, she should be extradited and face charges related to her actions. 

2 hours ago, Thechook said:

Being American doesn't put her above the law

Unfortunately, having diplomatic immunity does.

7 minutes ago, zydeco said:

Unfortunately, having diplomatic immunity does.

3 hours ago, tifino said:

uh oh... the ingredients are now complete - for a midnight middle of bridge prisoner swap!

 

 President makes sweet offerings

 

Offer the Woman - for JulianA 

 

if it drags on long enough maybe they'll swap the randy one for her...

"Back in 2005, Virginia police did their best imitation of Chris Hansen and set out to catch a predator. They set up a sting operation where they discovered a man in his 40s allegedly looking to have sex with a 13-year-old girl. The man drove for hours to meet her, promising to teach her about sex, but of course it was a trap and cops arrested the man. Yay! Victory for the good guys, right?

Wrong. Turns out the man, Salem Al-Mazrooei, was a diplomat from United Arab Emirates. The cops were forced to let the him go and a few days later, Al-Mazrooei returned to his country like nothing had happened."

 

 https://www.ranker.com/list/diplomatic-immunity/jacobybancroft

12 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

if it drags on long enough maybe they'll swap the randy one for her...

With the UK being the USA's poodle, it could easily be 2 for 1.

2 hours ago, z42 said:

Respect to the Brits for doing the right thing, and shame on the Americans for displaying the uber arrogant posturing that most nations' people loathe them for

 

1. Diplomatic immunity means just that, diplomatic immunity. And it doesn't just apply for Americans, but other nations invoke the same rights as well.

 

2. I don't see any details in the OP article here that make the case for the woman being criminally culpable... Maybe she was, and the article simply doesn't explain the circumstances. 

I would love to see the statistics of when diplomatic immunity was used to avoid serious felony charges within the USA.   Anecdotally I can remember 3-4.  I am sure there are more.  But of course the outcry is because in this case the “criminal” is American.   

2 minutes ago, Marknreston said:

I would love to see the statistics of when diplomatic immunity was used to avoid serious felony charges within the USA.   Anecdotally I can remember 3-4.  I am sure there are more.  But of course the outcry is because in this case the “criminal” is American.   

This woman is almost universally loathed for her selfish, arrogant response to the killing of the boy she caused. But congratulations to British prosecutors and chauvinists, with this action, you're actually generating some sympathy for her. Why? Because, you see, it is Britain that thinks it is so special. It is Britain that can ignore the principle of diplomatic immunity when it wants. What are the British going to do? Send a gunboat up the Potomac? 

 

This woman and her husband should have had their careers terminated and destroyed for their undiplomatic behavior. Bad publicity should follow them until they squeal. The press should hound them on their doorsteps and follow them to any job they take. But the British do not get to scrap diplomatic immunity just because it happens to make good politics. They didn't have any problem with letting the Libyans go who shot down and murdered Yvonne Fletcher in 1984. 

19 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

1. Diplomatic immunity means just that, diplomatic immunity. And it doesn't just apply for Americans, but other nations invoke the same rights as well.

 

2. I don't see any details in the OP article here that make the case for the woman being criminally culpable... Maybe she was, and the article simply doesn't explain the circumstances. 

They have charged her.

3 minutes ago, Sujo said:

They have charged her.

 On the basis of what? (I'm asking, because, I don't know the pertinent details).

 

Was she drunk? Was she speeding? Did she run a red light, etc etc?

 

Just because someone died in a crash doesn't automatically mean the other party is criminally liable under the law (even if she didn't have diplomatic immunity).

 

imo this laying of charges is pure optics since it's the HO that makes the real call..

Wasn’t she going wrong way down the road?

diplomatic immunity it is an essential part of international relations.  Without it, for example, dimplomats in Saudi Arabia might face serious consequences for a one night hook up, drinking alcohol, or other things that are not considered illegal in most places.

 

perhaps there needs to be some sort of treaty whereby serious crimes are investigated by the home country, providing that it is also an offence in that country.  Kind of similar to military court marshals.

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

"Anne will not return voluntarily to the United Kingdom to face a potential jail sentence for what was a terrible but unintentional accident," Jeffress said in a statement.

Aren't all accidents unintentional? I charge of dangerous driving doesn't make any distinction between intentional or