12 June 2024 , 11:54
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Harry Dunn's inquest has been told that the US government employee behind the wheel of the car that killed him – who has refused to appear before the court – admitted to "driving like an American" in her police interview.
In a voluntary interview with police officers from Northamptonshire Police two months after the fatal crash in 2019, which was read to the court on Wednesday, Anne Sacoolas insisted she was a "safe driver".
The inquest heard that when asked what she believed had caused the collision, she told officers: "I drove like an American and drove on the American side of the road." Sacoolas said in a witness statement that the crash which killed the teenage motorcyclist in August 2019 is something that will live with her "every single day for the rest of my life".
Responding to the statements provided to the court by Sacoolas, the Dunn family's spokesman Radd Seiger said: "We have heard most of that before. Why on earth is Sacoolas not in court to answer the court's and the family's questions?"
The US State Department asserted diplomatic immunity on behalf of Sacoolas and she was able to leave the UK 19 days after the fatal collision. She appeared before a High Court judge at the Old Bailey via video-link in December 2022, where she pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.
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Sacoolas was advised against attending her sentencing hearing by her employer, which prompted the family to say they were "horrified" that the US government was "actively interfering in our criminal justice system". Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb handed her an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Anne Sacoolas previously pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving, (PA Wire/PA Images)In one of her witness statements, Sacoolas said she "instinctively moved to the right side of the road" and was not aware she was on the wrong side of the road "until after the collision". A statement from her lawyers in the US in September 2020 said Sacoolas had been driving on the wrong side of the road for 20 seconds before she hit Mr Dunn outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
She told the inquest she "hysterically flagged down a motorist" after the crash and "begged her to get help". The 45-year-old said she had not received any training on driving on UK roads after arriving in the country.
Sacoolas, who gave her employment details to police as an analyst for the US State Department, rejected the coroner's invitation to give live evidence to the inquest. Her lawyer Ben Cooper KC previously told the court she had "provided everything she could to help this inquest" and offered to "answer any further questions".
In one of her two witness statements, which was only prepared for the inquest on Wednesday, Sacoolas said: "Immediately after the accident, I hysterically flagged down a motorist and begged her to get help."
"While she called 999, I called my husband to contact the base for help, because we were so close to the base entrance. The base was the first to respond." She continued: "As I turned out of the exit from the Croughton Air Force base, taking a left turn, I instinctively moved to the right side of the road."
"I knew that the proper side of the road to drive was the left side, not the right side as I was accustomed to driving in the United States. My action was based on instinct and not recalling in that moment that I should have been driving on the other side."
Concluding her most recent statement, Sacoolas said: "I deeply regret having caused this accident. I made a tragic mistake that I will live with every single day for the rest of my life."
"There is not a single day that goes by that Harry is not on my mind and I am deeply sorry for the pain that I have caused." The inquest, which is due to conclude on Thursday, continues.