Anne Sacoolas could give evidence remotely from the US as rough inquest date is set into the death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn

The family of Harry Dunn has spoken out after a rough inquest date looking into their son’s death was set today… which could see Anne Sacoolas give evidence remotely.

A pre-inquest hearing took place today (Wednesday, November 1) looking into the death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn, from Brackley, whose motorcycle was in collision with a car driven by American Anne Sacoolas near a US military intelligence base at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in 2019.

The family’s spokesman, Radd Seiger, told Chron and Echo: “The devastating thing for us as a family is having to wait four and a half years for an inquest. We are not happy that this important process for any bereaved family has been delayed for so long.

"We wanted justice but we also want to make sure that what happened to this family never happens again. This inquest is about helping a totally innocent family understand what happened to their son.”

However, the pre-inquest hearing heard how Mr Dunn’s family have faced a “deafening silence” from the US State Department, Anne Saccoolas’ employer, in the four years since the incident took place.

Mr Seiger said: “The party that's never engaged with us is the most important one, the US State Department. It has not uttered a word in the four and a half years of the campaign or at the criminal case last December.

“It’s incredible to hear the coroner is going to take up the baton. And they’re [US State Department] going to have to be very brave if it says no to her now.

"They're going to have to say no to the coroner, who as you heard today is going to be requesting their involvement and declaring them to be an interested person.”

A rough date for the inquest to start has been set for June next year, and it is set to take place over four days, the pre-inquest hearing heard.

The pre-inquest hearing also heard how Ms Sacoolas is primed to give remote evidence to the inquest next year; Mr Seiger said the family is hopeful this happens.

He added that the family has “full confidence” in Northants Senior Coroner Anne Pember.

Mr Seiger said: "We're very pleased with the outcome today because the coroner is going to look much more widely into what happened to Harry as opposed to just saying Sacoolas was driving on the wrong side of the road.”

He added: “The other thing to not forget here is that the ambulance was terribly late to Harry.

"East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has been wonderful and totally transparent with their failings. They have admitted they were late and the call handling process was sub optimal. We have no wish to kick EMAS, but, God forbid, you need an ambulance tonight, we want it there and save our lives.

“We don’t know whether they would have been able to save Harry’s life if they got there on time but the coroner is going to be instructing an independent medical expert to look at that issue.”

The inquest is also expected to look a training provided to Sacoolas, road signage, previous accidents, and medical causation.

Background

Harry, 19, died after his motorcycle was in collision with a car driven by the American near a US military intelligence base at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in 2019. Just a few weeks after the crash, the teenager’s dad Tim Dunn spoke to this newspaper, saying: “For the first few days after the accident, we were confident that it would almost be straightforward.

“The police told us she said she wouldn't leave the country, that she admitted it was her fault, and the CCTV showed she was on the wrong side of the road. We thought it would be quite quick to prove it.” Instead, it took 24 hours short of 1,200 days for Sacoolas to be sentenced after finally admitting causing Harry’s death by dangerous driving… and even then, she appeared on a video screen at the Old Bailey, defying a judge who told her to appear in person.

The family’s fight saw them badgering the UK government, two US presidents and government officials on both sides of the Atlantic. It sparked revelations Sacoolas worked as a CIA spy, claims she had been promoted months after the fatal crash, court hearings in the US and calls for public inquiries here.

Anne Sacoolas appeared via video link from America at London’s Central Criminal Court - The Old Bailey - on December 8 2022 after pleading guilty to causing Harry’s death by careless driving.

Sacoolas was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.