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LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) – A lawyer for Ann Saikulas, a U.S. civil servant who fled to Britain after admitting causing the death of a teenager in a car crash in England three years ago, blamed her departure on pressure from Washington as she was extradited. An eight-month suspended sentence on Thursday.
Harry Dunn, 19, died in August 2019 after his motorcycle collided with a car driven by Sakulas, near RAF Crowton, an air force base in the central English county of Northamptonshire that is used by the US military.
Sakulas, whose husband worked as a US intelligence officer at the base, left Britain soon after the accident, claiming diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution, and the United States refused to extradite her.
The tragedy sparked a diplomatic spat between London and Washington, with the British government backing calls to prosecute Sakulas.
She pleaded guilty in October to causing death by dangerous driving, after agreeing to appear remotely in a British court.
On Thursday, she was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, when she appeared via videolink at London’s Old Bailey Court for sentencing. It means she will only be jailed if she commits a second offense in Britain in the next year.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson, who had two of her three children with her at the time, admitted at the scene that it was her fault and that she was on the wrong side of the road. She later told police officers that she was driving on the “American side.”
‘don’t let me die’
A witness at the scene told how Dunn repeatedly said “don’t let me die”.
Sakulas’ lawyer Ben Cooper said she had not personally asked for diplomatic immunity and that her departure from Britain was “a decision made by her government”.
He said she received “extensive death threats” and was forced to relocate on several occasions.
“My tragic mistake led to the loss of Harry, and I live with that regret every day,” Sakolas said in a statement. “Not a day goes by that Harry isn’t on my mind.”
Her sentencing was the culmination of a three-year high-profile campaign by Dunn’s parents to bring her to justice, which included a meeting with then-President Donald Trump at the White House. They expressed anger that the US government asked Sakulas not to attend her sentencing in person.
“Deed done, promise fulfilled,” Dunn’s mother, Charlotte Charles, said outside court, adding that it was despicable that Sakulas was not in court, calling her a “huge coward.”
Judge Bobby Cheema-Grube said Sakulas’ lawyers told the court their client had been advised not to appear in person because it could “jeopardize vital US interests”.
“The US government in no way supports Ms. Sakulas appearing in person at this hearing,” Sakulas’ US attorney said in a statement read by the judge.
Foreign Secretary James Chaturai said the British government was clear he must return to Britain to face justice.
“We have learned important lessons from this tragic incident, including reforming the process of waiver of diplomatic immunity,” he said in a statement.
Reported by Sam Tobin; Writing by Michael Holden, editing by Kylie McLellan and Elaine Hardcastle
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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