Anne Sacoolas

Sorry Alexa. It's dawned on me what you mean. (Feeling bit dim today)

Just saw that on Sky Anniebach wonder where that leaves her now?

Safe in America I expect

Probably

Do we have an extradition agreement with the US?

Well I’m going to type what I think then duck for cover.

First of all this is a most terrible tragedy for all involved. Yes all of them. The poor young man, his parents and the Sacoolas family. They have all had their lives ruined.

Anne Sacoolas did not get up one morning and decide to go out on the roads and kill someone. It was an accident. Like every accident is an accident.
As far as I an aware she wasn’t on drugs or been tested positive for alcohol. She made a mistake.
How often have any of you made a mistake?
A terrible tragic mistake and her lack of concentration had dreadful consequences.
She is being made out to be a monster and she isn’t.
Have non of you ever driven on the “wrong side” of the road?
Once more I don’t know if she was driving a left or right hand drive car. It’s easier to stay on the correct side of the road if the car being driven is designed for that side.
A lot of cars around our local US airforce base use left hand drive vehicles so, IMO, this makes remembering more difficult.
I agree she should have stayed but, like david, I would think she had little choice.
I feel that she has been judged very harshly by most on this thread. That woman could have been me.

That woman could have been any one of us - but we would have gone through the necessary UK legal proceedings to be found guilty or not guilty.

I lost a member of my family many years ago to a woman who made a terrible mistake while driving. She was arrested for killing a 17 year old boy, charged, faced a trial and she was found not guilty. She had a nervous breakdown and she surrendered her driving licence as she did not want to drive again. What she did not do is skip off to another country to escape the legal process.

Anne Sacoolas had a choice and she chose not to do the right thing. I have absolutely zero sympathy for her as a result - zero.

I don't tend to drive on the wrong side of the road unless I am overtaking .
I also understand that accidents are just that , but there may be offences committed during that accident . If there were then those need to be investigated and the necessary action taken. By leaving the country under the ' diplomatic immunity', provision she has prevented any further action. The family won't now know exactly what happened and that is why it was cowardly of her to leave. If something had happened to her child I am sure she would have wanted to know the details.

Well said, Pamela. It may be that she will face charges if she doesn't have DI but I still think the family were hastily moved back to the USA as a matter of security.

I agree wholeheartedly with PamelaJ.

This shouldn't turn into a witch-hunt.

I did say that I agreed that she should have stayed. We all should face up to the consequences of our actions. Accidental or not.
However it may have been out of her control. If the US wanted her gone then she would have to go.

It may have been out of her control, yes, but your earlier post seemed to be focused more on the fact that she just made a mistake and didn’t mean to do it, because haven’t we all driven on the wrong side of the road at some point.

I really hope that if the truth ever comes out it shows that the US Govt have them no choice whatsoever - because if she chose to leave the country then there are no polite words to describe her behaviour

Lois- by wrong side of the road I was referring to the fact that they drive on the “wrong side” of the road in the US.
Sorry I didn’t make that clearer.

The woman already has a driving conviction.

Ellan v... Do you know what her driving conviction was for?

Beckett posted earlier

It is being reported that she was previously fined for driving without "paying full time attention" in USA. Apparently it is usually associated with using a phone whilst driving or driving in the wrong lane.

It was in 2006. Long ago enough for it to be discounted as far as this discussion is concerned.

I’m sure it’s not beyond the wit of man ( and woman) for her to accept being tried via video link. If the will is there, I’m sure there would be a way but I doubt it would happen. I just hope we remember this next time a UK diplomat breaks the law in the US

PamelaJ1, but she was on the wrong side of the road here as I understand it. I know it that driving abroad is difficult but it needs to be established exactly why she was on the wrong side and if any offences occurred.

I’d read that she turned out of the base onto the wrong side of the road and drove about 400 yards like that and then hit the young man head on. If you hit someone when you are on the wrong side of the road, I think you are almost certainly in the wrong. She’d only been in the country a very little while

I am not surprised by some of the posts on here. A young man lost his life and a lovely family lost a son. The situation has made people angry

However, like other posters have said flying back to America may have been beyond her control, also in the States you drive on the opposite side on the road, that is why I believe it was a terrible mistake with tragic consequences.

I just feel so sad for Harry's parents.

I've just read on the Guardian website that her husband was not a diplomat and should not therefore have diplomatic immunity. It seems to go from absolutely awful to something worse than that.
I just feel so sorry for the family of Harry Dunn.

One wonders if it had been a member of the royal family who was killed by the American whether we’d just shrug and say ok she didn’t mean it , get over it.... I bet not.

I’m so impressed by the behaviour and tenacity of this family. Avoiding the disgraceful Trump ambush at the WH was stunning -it would have been so easy to have been overawed and given in to a cheap shot meeting with the woman who killed their son and a photo op with DT. I’m sure she’ll never face justice but they must feel better that their sons death and the shortcomings of diplomatic immunity have received attention on both sides of the Atlantic and that they didn’t just roll over when faced with the massive apparatus of the state. May they eventually find some peace.

Surely, if she had been a British national her passport would be seized pending investigations - or maybe they don't do that now?! Either way, it was cowardly and despicable for her to flee the country to evade prosecution, what a truly horrible person she is! Have to wonder if she was breathalysed at the scene too or is that something else she afraid to admit to?

No amount of investigation and punishment will bring that wonderful young man back but his parents are keen to see that this does not happen to anyone else.