“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,” Chief Crown Prosecutor Janine Smith said in a statement.
“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,” she said.
Smith added: “May I remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against Anne Sacoolas are now active and that she has a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
Although Sacoolas first cooperated with British police, she later claimed diplomatic immunity under international law and returned to the United States — despite telling police she had no plans to do so.
Dunn’s devastated parents have spent recent months appealing to British authorities and President Trump to send Sacoolas back to Britain to face court proceedings.
“President Trump, please listen,” Dunn’s mother, Charlotte Charles, said in an interview with Sky News in October. “We’re a family in ruin. We’re broken. We can’t grieve. Please, please, let her get back on a plane, come back to the U.K.” Charles added: “We could understand how she’s feeling, but more importantly, she needs to face justice, see what she’s done.”
Tim Dunn, Harry Dunn’s father, said in October, “I’m deeply, deeply disappointed that they think it’s okay to kill a young lad on his bike and they can just walk away.”
Watch the emotional moment Harry Dunn's family find out Anne Sacoolas has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
Sacoolas was involved in a crash in which Harry Dunn died, but she left the country claiming diplomatic immunity.
More here: https://t.co/Dfwosw0jHT pic.twitter.com/ljc6ZYaCyx
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 20, 2019
On Friday, the parents were overcome with emotion upon learning of the move to charge Sacoolas in their son’s death.
“Three months of fighting, we’ve done it” Charles can be heard saying through sobs in a video shared on social media by Sky News.
“We’ve got the charge. This is it,” said Tim Dunn. He called the news “amazing.”
Dunn’s mother has long expressed hope that this day would come, saying Friday that she would “never have been able to rest” without obtaining justice for her son. In recent months, Dunn’s parents have appeared on British and American television in an attempt to raise awareness of the case.
Trump stunned Dunn’s parents during a meeting at the White House in October when he announced that Sacoolas was waiting nearby and was prepared to meet with them.
White House officials were skeptical of having Dunn’s parents and Sacoolas in the West Wing at the same time, but Trump was keen on having a “hug and make up moment,” a person with knowledge of the discussions said at the time.
Dunn’s parents declined Trump’s offer to meet Sacoolas.
“We’ve said all along we are willing to meet her, but it has to be with therapists and mediators. And that’s not just for us; it’s for her as well,” Charles said later. “To be thrown into a room together with no prior warning, that’s not good for her mental health, and it’s certainly not good for ours.”
The Dunn case sparked outrage in Britain, thrusting the concept of diplomatic immunity under the spotlight. For many, the actions of Sacoolas following the crash called into question whom diplomatic immunity should protect and what exactly it should cover.
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