The US State Department employee told Northamptonshire Police in 2019 that she was “driving like an American”, a statement read at the inquest into Dunn’s death reveals, while Sacoolas remains absent.
Wednesday 12 June 2024 15:54, United Kingdom
Anne Sacoolas has apologized for the “tragic mistake” she made which resulted in the death of Harry Dunn, an inquest into his death has heard.
In a voluntary interview with police two months after the 2019 crash, the transcript of which was read in coroner’s court on Wednesday, the US government employee insisted she was a “safe driver.”
The inquest, at which Sacoolas is not present, heard that when asked what she believed caused the collision, she told Northamptonshire Police: “I drove like an American and I drove on the American side of the road.” .
Sacoolas said in a witness statement that the fatal collision in August of that year was something she would live with “every day for the rest of my life.”
In response to statements made in court by Sacoolas, spokesperson for Mr. Dunn Radd Seiger said: “We’ve heard most of that before.
“Why the hell isn’t Sacoolas in court to answer questions from the court and the family?”
The US State Department asserted diplomatic immunity on Sacoolas’ behalf and she left Britain 19 days after the accident.
He appeared before a High Court judge at the Old Bailey via video link in December 2022, where he pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.
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The State Department discouraged Sacoolas from attending his sentencing hearing, prompting the Dunn family to say they were “horrified” that the US government was “actively interfering in our criminal justice system.”
She was sentenced to eight months in prisonsuspended for one year.
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In one of his witness statements, Sacoolas said he “instinctively moved to the right side of the road” and did not realize he was on the wrong side of the road “until after the collision.”
A statement from his US lawyers 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.
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In his witness statement read to the inquest, he said he “hysterically called a motorist” after the crash and “begged him to get help.”
The 45-year-old said she had not received any training on driving on UK roads after arriving in the country.
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.
His lawyer Ben Cooper KC previously told the court he had “provided everything he could to assist in this investigation” and offered to “answer any additional questions.”
Concluding his most recent statement, Sacoolas said: “Not a day goes by that Harry is not on my mind, and I am deeply sorry for the pain I have caused.”
The investigation continues.
