US woman gets suspended jail for Harry Dunn crash

A US citizen responsible for the death of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn has been sentenced to eight months imprisonment suspended for 12 months.

Anne Sacoolas, 45, was driving on the wrong side of the road when her car hit Mr Dunn, 19, outside a US military base in Northamptonshire in August 2019.

Sacoolas appeared via video-link at the hearing at the Old Bailey in London.

She had previously admitted causing his death by careless driving at a hearing at same court in October.

Sacoolas was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.

The defendant appeared via video-link after the US government advised Sacoolas not to attend her sentencing hearing.

She was originally charged with causing death by dangerous driving, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) accepted her guilty plea to the lesser charge.

Following the crash, Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf by the US administration and left the UK 19 days later.

The sentencing brings a legal resolution to Mr Dunn's family after a three-year wait for justice.

In her sentencing remarks to Sacoolas, Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: "There is no doubt that the calm and dignified persistence of these parents and the family of that young man has led, through three years of heartbreak and effort, to your appearance before the court and the opportunity for you to acknowledge your guilt of a crime."