Harry Dunn was hit head on by a vehicle allegedly driven by American Anne Sacoolas on August 27, 2019, who returned to the U.S. weeks after the crash after being granted diplomatic immunity.
The parents of a 19-year-old British boy struck and killed on his motorcycle by a car allegedly driven by an American woman who returned to the U.S. after being granted diplomatic immunity, has said they found renewed hope for justice in their son's case once Joe Biden was projected to have won the 2020 presidential election.
Harry Dunn had been riding his motorcycle on his way to visit his twin brother, Niall when he was hit head on by a vehicle allegedly driven by American Anne Sacoolas on Aug. 27, 2019. Police said Sacoolas told them she caused the crash outside the RAF Croughton military base in Northamptonshire, England. It was reported that she had been driving on the wrong side of the road.
Sacoolas, 43, a mother of three and wife of U.S. diplomat Jonathan Sacoolas, left the U.K. with her family in the weeks following the crash after the U.S. granted her diplomatic immunity.
Harry’s parents, Tim Dunn and Charlotte Charles, filed a civil suit in Virginia, where Sacoolas lives, in hopes of compelling her to return to England, turn herself in and face charges.
In December 2019, Sacoolas was charged by British prosecutors with causing death by dangerous driving over the crash that killed Dunn. In January, the British government condemned a decision by the United States not to extradite Sacoolas in the fatal road accident, a decision it later described as “final,” CBS News reported.
Last October, in an effort to quell the growing outrage in the U.K. over the case, President Donald Trump invited Dunn’s parents to the White House, hoping to persuade the couple to meet with Sacoolas, who was in an adjoining room, CBS reported.
The couple left the White House meeting and told the news outlet they felt "ambushed," as they'd been given no prior notice that Sacoolas was going to be in the building.
But Charles told CBS News that after she learned of the tragedies Biden endured, including losing his first wife and one-year-old daughter in a car crash in 1972, she said she believes he will have a "deeper understanding" of her family's pain.
Charles' comments came as Britain's High Court began hearing a case on Wednesday against the U.K.'s Foreign Office, the equivalent of the British State Department. Harry's parents asserted in their claim that the Foreign Office unlawfully obstructed the police investigation into their son's death, CBS reported.
The family's lawyer plans to rely on English common law dating back to 1774, which says even though the offense may have been committed in one country, the accused can face charges in another. Harry's parents said this is about justice and closure, CBS reported.
The parents told CBS they are determined to get the truth out there for their late son, Harry, and are not giving up. "She needs to still face what she's done to us and take some punishment for that," Dunn said.
Before Wednesday’s High Court hearing, Dunn said in a statement to CBS News: "This, for my family, has always been about Harry. Both governments [U.S. and U.K.] asked us to accept that his life did not matter and that he and we did not deserve justice. Well, his life did matter and we are entitled to justice."
"We are glad we are finally in Court and are hopeful that they will reach the right decision," the statement added.
In May, Niall Dunn, Harry's fraternal twin brother, issued a direct plea to the Prime Minister. He told him he "had enough of the lies” and asked the PM to get involved in the case. He told the PA news agency he and his parents have been “going through hell” since his brother's death.
The family has created a Justice4Harry page since his tragic passing. They have also created a GoFundMe page.
The hearing was being conducted remotely and was expected to last two days.
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