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Harry Dunn: Family of British teenager killed in car crash to visit White House

Family is in the US to pressure woman accused of killing Harry to return to the UK 

Clark Mindock
New York
Tuesday 15 October 2019 13:12 BST
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Boris Johnson vows to raise case of 19-year-old Harry Dunn with the White House if required

Harry Dunn's family has been invited to the White House for an "urgent meeting", as they seek to pressure the woman suspected of killing their son to return to the United Kingdom.

The invitation, which was confirmed to The Independent by the family's lawyer, comes just a day after the family held a press conference in New York, just blocks away from Donald Trump's famed Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan.

At that emotional press conference, the family called on Anne Sacoolas to return to the United Kingdom on her own accord, after the August death of her son.

Ms Sacoolas is said to have crashed her SUV into Harry Dunn and his motorcycle on 27 August, killing him. She later fled the United States, claiming diplomatic immunity, since her husband works on an intelligence compound that reportedly has special diplomatic status.

Since Ms Sacoolas returned to the United States she has issued an apology, but had not spoken directly to the Dunn family as of Monday. The UK Foreign Office has also indicated that diplomatic immunity does not apply in cases such as these.

The lawyer for the family, Radd Seigler, told The Independent that it is not clear who the family will be meeting with during their visit to the White House.

Druing the Monday morning press conference in New York, Harry's separated parents Tim Dunn and Charlotte Charles both called on Mr Trump to intervene.

Mr Dunn, when asked what he might say to Mr Trump if he had the chance, referenced the president’s five children, which include a 13-year-old boy.

“I would just say to him, as a man as a father ... just to see, how could you let this happen? If you’re a father and your child had died, surely you would want that person to own up and take the responsibility of their own actions. That’s all it is,” Mr Dunn said.

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A tearful Ms Charles told reporters: “We just want to know that she is being brought back to the UK.

“You know, that would be a huge step in the right direction. It’s the only right thing to do. It’s the only humane thing to do.”

She added: “All of our grief has gone on hold, it’s coming out in other horrific ways, your legs feel like lead, you’re in pain morning until night that no painkillers can take away.

“You’re not able to cry, because we can’t understand this whole situation as to why she [Ms Sacoolas] would have left us without wanting to meet us back then.

“She needs to get on the plane and get back to the UK, just do the right thing.

“It shouldn’t be that difficult, it shouldn’t have been this difficult, she surely didn’t have to go.”

The pair also indicated that they merely wanted to see justice for their son, and had been prepared to help Ms Sacoolas to avoid the steepest punishments possible. But, her decision to flee has potentially damaged that goodwill.

It is not clear what Mr Trump might do if he were compelled to intervene, and appeared to last week defend Ms Sacoolas for what he described as a mistake as a result of being unfamiliar with different road systems in the UK compared to the US.

"The woman was driving on the wrong side of the road. That can happen," Mr Trump said. "Those are the opposite side of the road. I won't say it ever happened to me, but it did."

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