British authorities have been pressing the US to reconsider its refusal to intervene in an investigation of the crash on August 27, after Sacoolas, an American citizen who has diplomatic immunity, left Britain despite telling the police that she had no plans to do so. Harry Dunn, 19, was killed after his motorcycle collided with a car travelling in the opposite direction in Brackley, a town about 95 kilometres north-east of London that is near RAF Croughton, a Royal Air Force base that is the site of a US Air Force communication station. Harry Dunn, pictured, died in the crash near RAF Croughton. Credit:Facebook Police have said that Sacoolas, 42, was driving on the wrong side of the road when the crash occurred and that their investigation has been complicated by the fact that she left the country. The developments have prompted a diplomatic tug-of-war, after Britain transmitted a formal request for a waiver of immunity to the US Embassy in London on September 5 that was declined eight days later.

The embassy on Monday declined to confirm the woman's identity — she is reportedly the wife of a US diplomat — but said it was unlikely to lift immunity in the case. Harry Dunn, 19, was killed in a crash with a car near RAF Croughton. The driver was identified as Anne Sacoolas. Credit:Getty Images Superintendent Sarah Johnson, head of operations for the Northamptonshire police, said in a statement on Saturday that the police had sought documentation "to allow for the arrest and formal interview of the subject." "Harry Dunn's family deserves justice, and in order to achieve this, a full and thorough investigation, with the assistance of all parties involved, needs to take place," she said. The police are also working closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Johnson said, adding that they were "exploring all opportunities through diplomatic channels" to ensure the investigation's progress.

Loading Dunn's mother, Charlotte Charles, has been pushing to have the American woman's immunity waived and for her to return to Britain. "President Trump, please listen," Charles told Sky News, the outlet that first reported on the identity of the 42-year-old woman. "We're a family in ruin. We're broken." "We can't grieve," she said, adding of the woman, "Please, please let her get back on a plane." British foreign minister Dominic Raab told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday he was disappointed by a US decision to let a diplomat's wife who was involved in a fatal car crash use diplomatic immunity to leave Britain.

"The Foreign Secretary spoke with Secretary Pompeo today to discuss a range of issues including Brexit, Hong Kong, Syria, Iran and the case of Harry Dunn where he reiterated his disappointment with the US decision and urged them to reconsider," a Foreign Office spokesman said. The crash, the investigation and Boris Johnson's identification of the American woman could further strain the so-called special relationship between the two countries, which has already been tested numerous times during Trump's presidency. Trump has engaged in public spats with Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, and endorsed Johnson as a strong candidate for prime minister while his predecessor, Theresa May, was still in office. Kim Darroch, the British ambassador to the US, resigned after leaked cables said Trump was "radiating insecurity" and called his administration diplomatically "clumsy and inept." Still, Britain must walk a fine line, most notably because it is hoping to sign a trade deal with the United States after it leaves the European Union, a fraught process that is complicated by the fact that the Americans may make demands the British find unacceptable. Robert Singh, a professor of politics at Birkbeck, University of London, who specialises in US foreign policy, said that he could not recall a more serious immunity dispute between the two countries.

He said in an email that while the police could visit the suspect in the US, such a visit would most likely be of limited value. Loading "This merely seems to postpone the moment of reckoning," he said. "If she is indeed guilty of the crime, as alleged, then there will be immense pressure upon the UK government to initiate formal extradition proceedings — which, one would imagine, any US administration (and this one, in particular) will resist." The victim's parents said they would continue fighting to get justice for their son's death. "We are not going to be swept under the carpet," Charles told ITV, a British news channel. "If that becomes his legacy, then we are going to carry on fighting, we're not going to give up, we're not going to go away," she said.

"We can't let our son die and nothing be answered for," said Tim Dunn, his father. New York Times