US national Anne Sacoolas receives suspended sentence for Harry Dunn's death

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - The wife of a US diplomat has received an eight-month prison sentence for the death of a British teenager in the UK in a 2019 traffic accident.

Anne Sacoolas, 45, who appeared from the US during the hearing via videolink, was also disqualified from driving for 12 months along with her sentence, which was suspended for 12 months.

Sacoolas had returned to the US after a fatal crash that killed Harry Dunn, who was 19 years old, under diplomatic immunity. She was later charged by British authorities with causing the death by dangerous driving.

"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," Justice Cheema-Grubb said.

She added that a possible minimum imprisonment of 15 months was the proper sentencing for the offence committed, but that the sentence given would be eight months due to mitigating factors.

The judge also said that the court observed Sacoolas' remorse throughout the case.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he hoped the sentencing "provides some closure" to Dunn's family.

Sacoolas crashed into Dunn's motorbike after leaving Royal Air Force Croughton -- an airbase used by the US Army -- on Aug. 27, 2019, killing the teenager.

She then left Britain under the immunity she claimed she had and went back to the US, despite being advised otherwise by local police.

Sacoolas was interviewed by the Northamptonshire Police, who travelled to the US after she left Britain and admitted her guilt in causing Dunn's death by driving on the wrong side of the road.

The incident had since attracted worldwide attention, as the British government and US administration got involved.

Dunn's parents travelled to the US for a meeting with then-President Donald Trump, though this sparked controversy as Trump told the family that they could meet Sacoolas as she was in the next room -- an offer the family refused.