In what the British Foreign Secretary termed “welcome news,” it was announced Monday that Anne Sacoolas, the American accused of killing British teenager Harry Dunn, will face a criminal trial in Britain on Jan. 18, 2022. The 44-year-old Sacoolas, who allegedly struck Dunn, 19, with her car while driving down the wrong side of an English road in 2019, fled the country soon after the accident and claimed diplomatic immunity. The United States has repeatedly refused to extradite Sacoolas, the wife of a spy who is confirmed to have been an intelligence officer herself, to the United Kingdom. It is unclear what has resolved this diplomatic tension, or whether Sacoolas will appear in person or over video link. Sacoolas faces a charge of causing death by dangerous driving, a charge the Crown Prosecution Service recommended for her in December 2019. Dunn’s mother, Charlotte Charles, said she and her family were “very emotional and overwhelmed” by the news. “It is all that we asked for following Harry’s death,” she added.
