LONDON, England – The wife of an American diplomat has been charged in the death of a young British man.
The U.K.'s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced Friday that Anne Sacoolas has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
Sacoolas is accused of driving a vehicle on the wrong side of a road outside a Royal Air Force station in central England before crashing into a motorcycle ridden by 19-year-old Harry Dunn, knocking him off and killing him.
Three weeks after the August collision, Sacoolas fled the U.K. to the U.S. and claimed diplomatic immunity, sparking a diplomatic rift between the two countries.
Since then, Sacoolas has apologized via her attorney for the “tragic mistake.”
"There is no dispute as to what happened," Sacoolas' legal representative Amy Jeffress said last month. "Anne was driving on the wrong side of the road and had no time to react when she saw the motorbike approaching - the crash happened too fast."
In October, Sacoolas' attorney said that officers interviewed her in the UK twice before she claimed immunity.
“Following the death of Harry Dunn in Northamptonshire, the Crown Prosecution Service has today authorised Northamptonshire Police to charge Anne Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving,” wrote Chief Crown Prosecutor Janine Smith in a press release. “The Director of Public Prosecutions has met with Harry Dunn’s family to explain the basis of the decision we have made following a thorough review of the evidence available.”
Now that Sacoolas has been charged, CPS has started the process of extraditing Sacoolas back to the U.K.
“May I remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against Anne Sacoolas are now active and that she has a right to a fair trial,” added Smith. “It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
