Parents of crash victim urge diplomat's wife to return to UK

By Associated Press 15 October 2019, 12:00AM

NEW YORK (AP) — The parents of a motorcyclist killed in a traffic crash with an American diplomat's wife took their case directly to U.S. audiences Monday, holding a New York news conference at which they urged the woman to return to Britain.

The parents of Harry Dunn have reached out to U.S. politicians and plan to be in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday in their quest to get the woman back in the U.K. "to present herself to police," family spokesman Radd Seiger said.

If that occurs, the family indicated, it would be willing to speak with her there.

The diplomat's wife, Anne Sacoolas, should "do the right thing," Charlotte Charles, Dunn's mother, "face us as a broken family" and face the U.K. legal system, urged tearfully.

"She needs to set an example to her own children that you can't run away," Charles said.

The 19-year-old Dunn was killed in August when his motorcycle collided with a car outside a British air force base in southern England used by the U.S. military.

Sacoolas then left Britain. The U.K. says she has lost diplomatic immunity. Her whereabouts are uncertain.

A statement previously issued on Sacoolas' behalf said: "Anne is devastated by this tragic accident. No loss compares to the death of a child and Anne extends her deepest sympathy to Harry Dunn's family."

Earlier Monday, Dunn's parents appeared on "CBS This Morning," where father Tim Dunn described the gruesome crash scene.

"I could see broken bones out of his arms and stuff. But he was talking," Dunn said.

"I called out to him and said, 'Harry, it's your dad. They're going to fix you. ... Be calm. Let them help you.'"

He recalled telling his son: "You're going to be OK. ... and then they sedated him and then that was the last time" they spoke.

President Donald Trump last week called what happened "a terrible accident" and said his administration would seek to speak with the driver "and see what we can come up with." He noted that the British drive on the left side of the road, while in the United States, people drive on the right.

"The woman was driving on the wrong side of the road," Trump said. "And that can happen."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office said the prime minister spoke with Trump on Wednesday and "urged the president to reconsider the U.S. position, so the individual involved can return to the U.K., cooperate with police and allow Harry's family to receive justice."

By Associated Press 15 October 2019, 12:00AM

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