Anne Sacoolas admits to making a ‘tragic mistake’ in the death of biker Harry Dunn, inquest reveals | UK News
Anne Sacoolas expressed regret for the “tragic mistake” she made that led to the death of Harry Dunn, as revealed in an inquest into his passing.
During a voluntary interview with the police two months after the 2019 accident, which was recounted to the coroner’s court on Wednesday, the US government employee maintained that she was a “safe driver”.
The inquest, in which Sacoolas is absent, disclosed that when questioned about the cause of the collision, she informed Northamptonshire Police: “I drove like an American and drove on the American side of the road.”
In a witness statement, Sacoolas acknowledged that the fatal crash in August of that year would haunt her “every single day for the rest of my life”.
Responding to the statements presented to the court by Sacoolas, a family spokesperson for Mr Dunn Radd Seiger remarked: “We have heard most of that before.”
“Why on Earth is Sacoolas not in court to respond to the court’s and the family’s inquiries?”
The US State Department invoked diplomatic immunity on behalf of Sacoolas, who departed Britain 19 days after the accident.
Harry Dunn (L) and his brother Niall, with their stepfather Bruce Charles. Pic: PA
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.
‘I couldn’t have asked for a better brother’, Harry Dunn’s twin tells inquest
Sacoolas was advised against attending her sentencing hearing by the State Department, which prompted the Dunn family to say they were “horrified” the American government was “actively interfering in our criminal justice system”.
She was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for a year.
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Harry Dunn’s twin’s tribute
In one of her witness statements, Sacoolas mentioned that she “instinctively moved to the right side of the road” and only realized she was on the wrong side of the road “after the collision”.
A statement from her US lawyers in September 2020 indicated that Sacoolas had been driving on the wrong side of the road for 20 seconds before colliding with Mr Dunn outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
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In her witness statement presented at the inquest, she recounted how she “hysterically flagged down a motorist” after the accident and “pleaded with her to seek help”.
The 45-year-old revealed that she had not received any training on driving in the UK upon her arrival in the country.
Sacoolas, who identified herself as an analyst for the US State Department when questioned by the police, declined the coroner’s invitation to provide live testimony at the inquest.
Her attorney Ben Cooper KC previously informed the court that she had “fully cooperated to assist this inquest” and was willing to “address any further inquiries”.
In her most recent statement, Sacoolas expressed: “There is not a single day that passes without Harry on my mind, and I deeply regret the pain I have caused.”
The inquest is ongoing.
