Mother of teenager killed in hit-and-run wants to meet US diplomat's wife and 'give her a hug'
The mother of the British teenager who was killed in a hit-and-run wants to meet the wife of a US diplomat who has been granted immunity after the incident and “give her a hug”.
Harry Dunn, 19, was killed on his motorcycle when a car, which police believe was being driven by a US diplomat’s wife called Anne Sacoolas, collided with him outside an airbase in Northamptonshire.
Police have said the car was being driven on the wrong side of the road and hit Harry head-on.
Mrs Sacoolas – whose husband, Jonathan, works at the spy base – was subsequently able to leave the UK after claiming diplomatic immunity.
A spokesperson for the family has told Yahoo News UK they are bereft at their loss and that Mrs Sacoolas “made a mistake on the night their son was killed”.
They added: "We have no knowledge of this woman, all we know is that she has now been named and she killed our son.
"Charlotte (Harry's mother) just wants to meet her and give her a hug.
“She made a mistake that night. We all make mistakes."
On Monday, Boris Johnson's spokesman said the government is urging the US to "reconsider its decision" to give Mrs Sacoolas immunity.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to a hospital in Watford, the Prime Minister said: “I think everybody’s sympathies are very much with the family of Harry Dunn, and our condolences to them for their tragic loss.
“I do not think that it can be right to use the process of diplomatic immunity for this type of purpose.
“And I hope that Anne Sacoolas will come back and will engage properly with the processes of law as they are carried out in this country.”
The Prime Minister said that if the situation isn’t resolved he will raise it himself with the White House.
The family, however, insists Mrs Sacoolas should return to the UK: "Diplomatic immunity laws are put in place to keep diplomats safe, they are not a get-out-of-jail-free card. You have to abide by the laws of the country you are in,” the spokesman told Yahoo News UK.
Mrs Sacoolas, 42, was based at RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire.
On the night she is alleged to have collided with Harry Dunn, it is thought she had her three children in the backseat of her car and that they were removed from the scene.
Harry suffered severe injuries and died later on in hospital.
Mrs Sacoolas is reported to have told Northamptonshire Police that night that she had no intention of leaving the UK.
According to Sky News, Northamptonshire Police were in the process of requesting a waiver of diplomatic immunity when they were informed that Mrs Sacoolas and her family had left the UK.
His devastated family have appealed to the US Embassy to send her back to the UK.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service's website, only diplomats and their families based in London are entitled to claim diplomatic immunity.
In a statement, the embassy said: “We express our deepest sympathies and offer condolences to the family of the deceased in this tragic traffic accident.
“Any questions regarding a waiver of the immunity with regard to our diplomats and their family members overseas in a case like this receive intense attention at senior levels and are considered carefully given the global impact such decisions carry; immunity is rarely waived.
“The US Embassy has been and will continue to be in close contact with appropriate British officials.”
People who knew Harry Dunn say that he was full of fun, the centrepiece of the family and bubbly.
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Harry, who passed his full test in March, had done 50,000 miles by 19, which most motorcyclists cannot get to. He was a very capable motorcyclist.
"He was a very popular boy, he was loved by everybody,” the family spokesperson told Yahoo News UK.
“All the family want to do is grieve. This is a very punishing ordeal for them."
Harry’s mother, Charlotte Charles, said: “We’re not a horrible family. We’re a usual UK family that just need to put a face to what we have now as a name.
“Talk to her, find out how she’s feeling. She’s got to be suffering as well – she’s a mum.
“Without knowing who this person is properly, we can’t begin to try and start our grieving process.”
