Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a U.S. diplomat, has been charged with causing the death of British teenager Harry Dunn by dangerous driving.It’s the latest development in a case that has gripped the U.K. since last summer, when police say Sacoolas, 42, drove her car out of a military base on the wrong side of the road, apparently forgetting the rules of left-lane British driving, and collided with Dunn’s motorcycle. The impact sent Dunn flying over Sacoolas’s vehicle and he died soon after in a local hospital.Sacoolas left the U.K. in early September under diplomatic immunity, against the wishes of the British Foreign Office, and went into hiding until President Trump tried (and failed) to orchestrate a surprise meeting between her and Dunn’s parents when they came to the White House to argue that Sacoolas should return to Britain to face justice.Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service has now authorized police to charge Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving. The local police force, Northamptonshire Police, had already interviewed Sacoolas in the U.S. and handed its file of evidence to the CPS last month.Chief Crown Prosecutor Janine Smith said in a statement Friday afternoon local time: “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.”The CPS also confirmed that is has started extradition proceedings, and has sent a request to the British Home Office, which will now consider whether to formally issue an extradition request for Sacoolas.Footage broadcast on Sky News showed Dunn’s parents—Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn—in tears after they learned of the charges. Dunn’s mom said: “I carried out my promise to one of my kids, the promise that I made that we would get that justice… I would never have been able to rest properly ever without having been able to carry out that promise I made.” Dunn’s father Tim added: “We set out so long ago and we believed and we believed and we believed, and we’ve done it, we’ve done it, we’ve got the charge. This is it, it’s amazing, it’s absolutely amazing. Justice. Whatever happens now it doesn’t matter, we’ve got what we wanted.”The Dunns have kept up the pressure on Sacoolas through constant media appearances, and The Daily Beast reported last month that lawyers for Sacoolas were been in secret talks with British officials. The talks were said to entail negotiations about a plea deal that would keep Sacoolas from serving prison time if convicted in Dunn’s wrongful death.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
