LONDON (AP) 鈥� An American woman who left the U.K. after killing a teenager in a road accident was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence on Thursday, though she declined to come to Britain for the court hearing.
Anne Sacoolas, 45, was sentenced over an August 2019 accident in which 19-year-old Harry Dunn was killed when his motorcycle collided with a car outside RAF Croughton, an air base in eastern England that is used by U.S. forces. Sacoolas was driving on the wrong side of the road at the time.
Sacoolas and her husband, an American intelligence officer, returned to the U.S. days after the accident. The U.S. government invoked diplomatic immunity on her behalf, prompting an outcry in Britain and causing tensions between the governments in London and Washington.
Sacoolas admitted causing death by careless driving, which carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment. Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said Sacoolas鈥� actions were 鈥渘ot far short of deliberately dangerous driving," but she reduced the penalty because of Sacoolas鈥� guilty plea and previous good character.
The suspended sentence means that Sacoolas faces jail if she commits another offense within a year 鈥� though the judge acknowledged the sentence could not be enforced if she remains in the U.S.
The sentencing follows a three-year campaign by Dunn鈥檚 family, who met with politicians on both sides of the Atlantic in a campaign to get Sacoolas to face British justice. American authorities refused to extradite her.
Sacoolas entered a guilty plea in October, but the U.S. administration advised her not to come to Britain for sentencing. She attended the hearing at London鈥檚 Central Criminal Court by video link.
Lawyer Ben Cooper said Sacoolas had not asked for the diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf by the U.S. government. He read a statement from Sacoolas in which she said she was 鈥渄eeply sorry for the pain I have caused.鈥�
鈥淭here isn鈥檛 a day that goes by that I don鈥檛 think about Harry,鈥� the statement said.
The judge said the 鈥渃alm and dignified persistence鈥� of Dunn鈥檚 parents had led Sacoolas to acknowledge guilt and appear before the court.
Dunn鈥檚 mother Charlotte Charles said in a victim impact statement that her son鈥檚 death 鈥渉aunts me every minute of every day and I鈥檓 not sure how I鈥檓 ever going to get over it.鈥�
鈥淎s a family we are determined that his death will not have been in vain and we are involved in a number of projects to try to find some silver lining in this tragedy and to help others,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat will be Harry鈥檚 legacy.鈥�
The Associated Press
