US refuses to return diplomat’s wife to Britain to face charges of killing teen in collision

Months after a British teenager was tragically killed in a wrong-way crash, the U.S. government has refused an extradition request from the United Kingdom to turn over the woman charged in his death, who is married to an American diplomat.

The woman, Anne Sacoolas, claimed diplomatic immunity following the Aug. 27 collision that killed Harry Dunn, 19. She fled to the United States amid demands from British government officials, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to return to face justice.

In a statement Thursday night, a State Department spokesman confirmed that it has declined the U.K.'s extradition request "of a U.S. citizen involved in a tragic vehicle accident," while expressing condolences to Dunn's family. The spokesman said that extraditing Sacoolas to face the charges would "set an extraordinarily troubling precedent," but did not elaborate when asked.

"At the time the accident occurred, and for the duration of her stay in the UK, the U.S. citizen driver in this case had immunity from criminal jurisdiction," his statement to The Washington Post said. "If the United States were to grant the UK's extradition request, it would render the invocation of diplomatic immunity a practical nullity and would set an extraordinarily troubling precedent."

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement he had called the U.S. ambassador in London to "express the Government's disappointment. We feel this amounts to a denial of justice."

Raab said the British government "would have acted differently if this had been a UK diplomat serving in the US."

Sacoolas, 42, stands charged with causing death by dangerous driving. The U.K. Home Office said in a statement to The Post that "we are urgently considering our options."

A spokesman for the family called the decision "one of the darkest days in the history of this special relationship" between the two allies, but said the family was not surprised by the decision.

"[The U.S. government] is effectively saying it's OK for American service personnel to come to the U.K., kill our children and get on the next plane home," the spokesman, Radd Seiger, told The Post Friday morning. "And I can assure your leaders that is not what's going to happen. This is far from over."

At the time of the head-on collision, Sacoolas was living with her husband near the Royal Air Force Croughton station, which is operated by the U.S. Air Force. She has acknowledged that she was driving on the wrong side of the road when she struck Dunn's motorcycle.

Sacoolas initially cooperated with British police investigators but fled to the United States before their investigation was complete, claiming diplomatic immunity. British investigators later flew to the U.S. to interview her.

Under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, family members of diplomats are covered by immunity while living abroad. But countries can also decide to waive immunity to allow a diplomat, or family member, to face serious charges.

That's what the United States has refused to do in this case.

Sacoolas' refusal to return caused an uproar in Britain and devastated Dunn's parents. Dunn's parents mounted a vigorous campaign to seek justice for their son, including appealing directly to President Donald Trump and even traveling to the White House.

"President Trump, please listen," Dunn's mother, Charlotte Charles, said in an interview with Sky News in October, just prior to the White House visit. "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 . . . We could understand how she's feeling, but more importantly, she needs to face justice, see what she's done."

They met with Trump in October, but later said they "were not impressed" by how it went. In a surprise move, Trump told Dunn's parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, that Sacoolas was in the building and ready to meet with them, throwing them off guard. He would not say whether he would waive immunity, but reportedly wanted everyone to have a "hug and makeup moment," a person with knowledge of the discussions told The Post at the time.

Dunn's parents declined to meet with Sacoolas, saying that any conversation needed to be done the right way with therapists and mediators present; Seigel described the trip to the White House as an "ambush." They vowed afterward to continue fighting for their son.

"We promised Harry as a family when we lost him that night that we would make sure justice was done," Charles said at the time.

On Thursday, Seiger said the family plans to meet with British government officials to discuss the next steps. He is hoping to discuss the possibility of shutting down RAF bases operated by the U.S. military within the U.K. as punishment for the State Department's rejection of the extradition request (a highly unlikely move) and said that protests are planned in the coming months.

He said that if nothing works under Trump, the family plans to take the fight to a new administration in the future.

"These extradition requests never go away," he said. "This will hang over Anne Sacoolas' head forever, and one day, a reasonable administration will come in, will look at this and say, no, this is not how we treat our strongest ally. She has killed a young man, and she has to go back."

Under British law, causing death by dangerous driving is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

An attorney for Sacoolas, Amy Jeffress, declined comment on the latest development. But Jeffress has previously said that a 14-year sentence for "a terrible but unintentional accident" would be a disproportionate punishment.

“Anne is devastated by this tragic accident and would do anything she could to bring Harry back,” Jeffress said in a Jan. 10 statement provided to The Post. “She continues to grieve for Harry and his family. ... We remain willing to work with the UK authorities to identify a path forward.”