Woman who fled country is a suspect in relation to a collision that killed Harry Dunn, 19

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

Police chiefs have written to the US embassy in London to demand immunity is waived for an American diplomat’s wife who is a suspect in relation to a fatal road crash.

Nick Adderley, chief constable for Northamptonshire police, said US authorities had been appealed to in “the strongest terms” to apply a waiver and “allow the justice process to take place”.

His force is leading investigations into a collision that killed Harry Dunn, 19, of Charlton, Banbury, on 27 August.

Police said the teenager died after his motorbike collided with a car close to RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, a military base used by the US Air Force.

A 42-year-old woman, named as Anne Sacoolas, is being treated as a suspect in relation to the crash. She has left the UK, despite telling officers she did not plan to do so.

Responding to a question on Twitter on Sunday, Adderley confirmed that he and Stephen Mold, police fire and crime commissioner for Northamptonshire, had contacted the embassy asking for immunity to be waived.

Meanwhile Dunn’s mother has spoken out about how she felt “all hope had gone” when she learned the woman suspected of killing him had fled abroad.

Charlotte Charles criticised the US embassy for maintaining her diplomatic immunity status. The Foreign Office has sent repeated requests to the embassy in London seeking a formal waiver of the woman’s immunity but US officials have declined to cooperate.

Speaking to ITV News, Charles said the diplomat’s departure – despite earlier promises that she had no plans to leave – “was like all hope had gone”.

She added: “It was literally a living nightmare. We were desperate to wake up in the morning and hope to God that it wasn’t true.

US diplomat's wife leaves UK after becoming suspect in fatal road crash Read more

“We’re not going to be swept under the carpet,” she added. “Harry always fought for what he believed in … we’re going to carry on that.”

Tim Dunn, Harry’s father, said it felt as if his “heart had dropped out” when he learned, a week after his son’s funeral, that the woman who was suspected of involvement in the crash had left the country

Both parents are due to meet the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, in the coming days.

Raab has offered his condolences to the family and said: “I have called the US ambassador to express the UK’s disappointment with their decision, and to urge the embassy to re-consider it.”

A spokesperson for the US embassy has said: “We express our deepest sympathies and offer condolences to the family of the deceased in this tragic traffic accident.

“Any questions regarding a waiver of the immunity with regard to our diplomats and their family members overseas in a case like this receive intense attention at senior levels and are considered carefully given the global impact such decisions carry; immunity is rarely waived.”

Sarah Johnson, head of operations for Northamptonshire police, said: “We can confirm that a 42-year-old American woman being treated as a suspect in our investigation into a fatal road traffic collision on the B4031 Park End, Croughton, on Tuesday, 27 August, has left the country.

“Northamptonshire police followed all of its usual procedures following the incident, including liaising closely with the suspect, who engaged fully with us at the time and had previously confirmed to us that she had no plans to leave the country in the near future.”