By Kris Holland and PA Media, BBC News, Northamptonshire
JUSTICE FOR HARRY19A US government employee has apologized for her “tragic mistake” that resulted in the death of Harry Dunn, an inquest has heard.
Dunn, 19, was knocked down outside the US airbase RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in 2019 by a car driven by an American woman, Anne Sacoolas.
Sacoolas, who was absent from the inquest, made two new statements to Northampton Coroner’s Court. The investigation also heard his responses during a police interview two months after the fatal accident and a statement from his lawyers in 2020.
Sacoolas left the country after the accident, claim diplomatic immunity.
She was eventually sentenced, via video link, to eight months in prison, suspended for one year, for causing death by reckless driving.
‘I’m really sorry’
In the statement taken during a voluntary interview by Northamptonshire Police in 2019, Sacoolas insisted she was a “safe driver”.
The inquest heard that when asked what she believed caused the collision, she told Northamptonshire Police officers: “I drove like an American and I drove on the American side of the road.”
She said the accident is something she will live with her “every day for the rest of my life.”
Sacoolas, who gave details of his employment to police as an analyst for the US State Department, declined the coroner’s invitation to give live testimony to the inquest.
Responding to statements given in court by Sacoolas, Dunn family spokesman Radd Seiger told the PA news agency: “We’ve heard most of that before.
“Why the hell isn’t Sacoolas in court to answer questions from the court and the family?”
A statement given by his lawyers in the United States in September 2020 said Sacoolas had been driving on the wrong side of the road for 20 seconds before colliding with Dunn outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
He said he had not received any training on driving on UK roads after arriving in the country.
Sacoolas, in his most recent statement to the inquiry, said: “I deeply regret having caused this accident.
“I made a tragic mistake that I will live with every day for the rest of my life.
“Not a day goes by that Harry is not on my mind and I am deeply sorry for the pain I have caused.”
Sacoolas added: “Immediately after the accident, I hysterically called a female motorist and begged her to get help.
“While she was calling 999, I called my husband to ask the base for help, because we were very close to the base entrance. The base was the first to respond.”
She continued: “When I left Croughton Air Force Base and turned left, I instinctively moved to the right side of the road.
“I knew the correct side of the road to drive on was the left side, not the right side like I was used to driving in the United States.
“My action was based on instinct and not remembering at the time that I should have been driving the other way.”
