Harry Dunn’s ‘killer’ Anne Sacoolas will face a claim for damages from the teenager’s family in a US court after a judge rejected her bid to have case moved to the UK
- Teen was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car outside a US military base
- Alleged killer Anne Sacoolas, a diplomat’s wife, fled to US and has not returned
- Dunn family brought civil claim for damages as ‘last resort’ in hunt for justice
Harry Dunn’s alleged killer will face a claim for damages from the teenager’s family in a US court after a judge rejected her bid to have the case moved to the UK.
Anne Sacoolas had applied to dismiss the case on the grounds it should be heard in Britain, despite her legal team admitting she would not agree to face trial due to a ‘concern’ she would not ‘receive fair treatment’.
A hearing at a court in the Eastern District of Virginia had previously been told her work in intelligence was ‘especially a factor’ in her departure and her Sacoolas family ‘fled’ the UK for ‘issues of security’.
Harry Dunn, 19, was killed when his motorbike collided with a car outside US military base RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August 2019
The suspect, 43-year-old Anne Sacoolas, had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf by the US government following the crash and she was able to return to her home country
But handing down his judgment on Tuesday, the judge said: ‘While it is commendable that Defendant Anne Sacoolas admits that she was negligent and that her negligence caused Harry Dunn’s death, this does not equate acceptance of responsibility.
‘Full acceptance of responsibility entails facing those harmed by her negligence and taking responsibility for her acts where they occurred, in the United Kingdom.’
She travelled back to the US after the State Department asserted diplomatic immunity on her behalf following a crash which killed Mr Dunn outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August 2019.
The 43-year-old was then charged with causing the teenager’s death by dangerous driving but an extradition request was rejected by the US Government in January last year.
Due to her ‘refusal’ to return to the UK, the Dunn family brought a civil claim for damages against her as ‘a last resort’ in the hope of some sort of justice for their son.
In his judgment, Judge Thomas Ellis dismissed Sacoolas’s submissions that the UK was a ‘more convenient’ forum, keeping the case in Virginia – describing the motion as ‘not warranted’.
Judge Ellis also took into account the ‘firm support’ of UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who submitted a letter to the court which read: ‘I strongly support (the Dunn family’s) right to bring the case.
‘It is of course for the US courts to decide the issue of venue but for our part the British Government takes the view that British citizens can bring their case in whichever court they think appropriate… I hope therefore (the Dunn family’s) action in the United States is able to proceed.’
Mr Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles said: ‘We are pleased and relieved at the court’s decision.
‘We only took this step as a last resort following the denial of justice in the extradition case on strong legal advice from our legal team.’
Mr Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles, pictured with father Tim Dunn, said: ‘We are pleased and relieved at the court’s decision’
On February 4, the family listened to Sacoolas’s legal team submit the application to dismiss, in which the Alexandria district court was told Sacoolas and her husband Jonathan Sacoolas worked for the US State Department at the time of the crash.
Her barrister, John McGavin, told the court he could not ‘completely candidly’ explain why the Sacoolas family left the UK, adding: ‘I know the answer, but I cannot disclose it.’
The Dunn family’s spokesman Radd Seiger said: ‘Having studied this judgment we are delighted to see that common sense has prevailed.
‘Harry’s parents only brought these legal proceedings as a last resort.
‘The Sacoolases were on the one hand arguing that the civil claim for wrongful death should be tried in the UK as that was the ‘more convenient’ forum, whilst at the same time arguing that she would not return to the UK to face a criminal prosecution because she fears she would not get a fair trial.
‘Harry’s parents never wanted to enter into dispute with anybody and they fundamentally believe that the way to resolve differences is with dialogue.’
Other motions Sacoolas’s legal team submitted to dismiss the case will be heard on March 3 in Virginia.