The wife of a U.S. diplomat who fled the United Kingdom after being involved in a collision that killed 19-year-old motorbike driver Harry Dunn is to appear virtually in British court this week.
Anne Sacoolas, a 45-year-old American citizen, is charged with causing death by dangerous driving in connection to the car crash into Dunn outside RAF Croughton, an air base in Northamptonshire, located in eastern England, used by U.S. forces, in August 2019. She was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road and had her 12-year-old son with her in the car when she rounded a corner and struck Dunn. He died hours later.
The Crown Prosecution Service announced on Monday that there will be a hearing in the case against Sacoolas at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday — an apparent breakthrough in the long-deadlocked case. The crash was initially categorized as a hit-and-run, and Sacoolas had reportedly been in the country for just three weeks at the time.
Sacoolas returned to the U.S. weeks after the collision, and the American government invoked diplomatic immunity on her behalf, prompting an outcry in Britain.
Dunn’s family has pressed politicians in Britain and the United States to get Sacoolas to face British justice, but an extradition request was refused by U.S. authorities.
Sacoolas is expected to appear virtually at Thursday’s procedural hearing.
British prosecutors previously set a January 2022 date for the hearing but canceled it days beforehand to allow for discussions with Sacoolas’ lawyers.
At the time, the law firm representing Sacoolas denied that she had agreed to appear in a British court.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
