US citizen Anne Sacoolas has been given a suspended prison sentence for the death of teen motorcyclist Harry Dunn outside a US military base in the UK. #USA #UK #HarryDunn #Sacoolas

"American citizen Anne Sacoolas was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, at the Old Bailey in London for causing the death of British teenager Harry Dunn in a fatal traffic collision in August 2019, meaning she will not have to go to jail. 

Sacoolas pleaded guilty in October to causing death by careless driving, punishable by up to five years in prison. 

She admitted to driving on the wrong side of the road when she hit the 19-year-old motorcyclist outside a US military base in England, where her husband worked as a US diplomat. 

Harry Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles, who has spent more than three years campaigning for justice for her son, told the court that the family was determined his death “will not be in vain.” 

“I made a promise to Harry in the hospital that we will get justice, and a mother never breaks her promise to her son,” she said. 

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In the sentencing hearing on Thursday, Justice Cheema-Grubb said that she was told Sacoolas’s “US Government employer” said her appearance at court in the UK would place “significant US interest at risk” and that, according to the documents, Sacoolas was “not at liberty to disclose further information.” 

Speaking in front of the court after the hearing, Charles said she thought it was “despicable” that Sacoolas didn’t attend the hearing in person.

Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity claimed on her behalf and was able to leave the United Kingdom weeks after the accident. Britain’s attempt to extradite Sacoolas to face charges of causing death by dangerous driving was declined by US authorities, and the incident has sparked some tension between the two countries. 

After the sentencing, Charles said she found the way the US government handled the case “disgusting.” 

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