American woman pleads guilty in crash that killed U.K. teen

An American woman pleaded guilty on Thursday in a crash that killed a 19-year-old British motorcyclist and has dogged U.S.-U.K. relations. Harry Dunn died in August 2019 when his motorbike collided with a car driving on the wrong side of the road near a U.S. airbase in southern England.

Anne Sacoolas, whose husband was an American official, left Britain soon afterwards and claimed diplomatic immunity in the incident.

She entered her plea in a London court via video link from Washington. Sentencing is expected to happen next month.

Since the accident, Dunn’s parents have been leading a high-profile fight to achieve justice for their son while U.S. authorities refused her extradition.

“I just want her to own it — her accountability — for what she has done to us as a family and to my son. And I need to ask her why she left, why did she think it was OK to leave my son there and — and just leave the country,” Dunn’s father Tim Dunn told CBS News in 2021.

Sacoolas was originally charged with causing death by dangerous driving but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of careless driving, which can bring a maximum jail term of up to five years.

Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles told Sky News she had felt “sheer relief.”

“I think that’s the overwhelming feeling… just sheer relief that we could look up and say, ‘Harry, we’ve done it mate. We’ve done what we promised.'”