'What if it was your son?'
What parents of British motorcyclist Harry Dunn, 19, who was killed by US
diplomat's wife, said to Trump as they left White House *
Daily Mail (UK),
by
Michelle Curran
Original Article
Posted By: Harlowe,
10/15/2019 11:00:00 PM
The parents of a British teenager killed in a car crash have refused to meet with the American diplomat's wife who was behind the wheel during an extraordinary meeting with President Donald Trump. Trump met Harry Dunn's parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, at the White House Tuesday afternoon and told them Anne Sacoolas, who allegedly killed their son, was in the next room. The president asked them if they wanted to meet her but they refused the offer.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
earlybird 10/15/2019 11:28:07 PM (No. 208492)
What exactly do they want? The article says they want to have a full examination of her diplomatic immunity. We have been told the basis for it dates back to at least the Clinton years or earlier (I am dealing from memory) when the particular base where her husband is serving was granted the same immunity as similar personnel in London.
These cases must be dealt with uniformly. If there was diplomatic immunity, so be it. Something else will be worked out. It is my guess that they would like to be compensated for their loss. What has to come before that?
7 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
bythegates 10/15/2019 11:34:01 PM (No. 208493)
I feel bad for this couple having lost their son in this accident. Clearly they want the mother who accidentally killed their son to go to prison. The minimum sentence in the UK appears to be a year, but could range up to 14. The mother was there at a military base PROTECTING THE UK, with her own young children in her car. The more I think about this the more I feel this British couple is being too vindictive. But at the same time I thank God for my kids and have no idea what state I would be in should I lose one of them.
11 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Blue Hen1 10/16/2019 12:44:14 AM (No. 208511)
Think she should go back and face the justice system. If a foreign diplomat had done this to an American citizen everyone would be screaming for their return
8 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
LadyHen 10/16/2019 1:21:13 AM (No. 208518)
Took forever in this jumbled mess of an article to find the facts :
FTA "Earlier on Tuesday Sacoolas revealed that she had spoken to Harry before he died as she admitted for the first time she was driving on the wrong side of the road.
Sacoolas, 42, said she had 'no time to react' when the teenager came towards her on his motorbike over a hill.
A statement issued by her lawyers said: 'Anne stayed on the scene of the accident to assist. She spoke to Harry Dunn to tell him that she would call for help.'
In her first account of what happened, she also said she flagged down another driver and then went to comfort her own children, who were in her crashed Volvo SUV."
Sounds like a terrible accident. Neither justice nor revenge however will bring back their dead son. No easy solutions here.
4 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
bighambone 10/16/2019 1:23:38 AM (No. 208519)
It was not the US Government that gave Mrs. Sacoolas diplomatic immunity while she was in the UK, it was the British Government. Have any of the British Royals invited these bereaved parents to Buckingham Palace to commensurate with them as President Trump has done?
The British Government could well negotiate with the US Government for both countries to drop diplomatic immunity, that now covers the diplomats and their families of both countries when they are deployed to both the UK and the USA in the future, since both countries operate under about the same system of laws and criminal justice systems. I doubt that the British Government would consent to that.
7 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Omen55 10/16/2019 1:36:01 AM (No. 208523)
We should sent her back to face Justice.
There is NO doubt it happen.
Not like she'll be executed.
Be an adult example for your kids,Anne.
4 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
MDConservative 10/16/2019 2:13:35 AM (No. 208539)
Very sorry it happened. No, Ms Sacoolas is not going back to face charges. The Dunn family will receive a substantial check from the US Government. That is all the "justice" they will receive. As a parent, I'd be mad as hell. But, as I heard a judge once tell a plaintiff seeking "justice", you only get the court's decision.
4 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
DVC 10/16/2019 2:44:20 AM (No. 208551)
She is an incompetent, and should never be permitted to enter the UK again. I have driven many times in countries which drive on the left, and I have always been EXCEPTIONALLY careful. Driving a car is extremely serious business and this person did not take it seriously enough and killed a young man because of here lack of care.
I think she should go back to Britain and face their laws.
1 person likes this.
There are no winners here. I don't know if I would have flown to the US if I were this family.
4 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Catherine 10/16/2019 3:42:05 AM (No. 208575)
I don't think she should go back. Yes, it's a terrible tragedy and every mother's heart breaks for this young man's family. But diplomatic immunity is real and has been for a very long time. You can't change the rules because of something like this. Either they all stay the same or they all change. I'm pretty sure they won't all change.
7 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
watashiyo 10/16/2019 6:44:00 AM (No. 208641)
Unfortunately, Diplomatic Immunity is the rule of the land under UK law. Foreign diplomats can break almost any law(even murder) and not be charged. How sad. This is not a moral issue, but a plain legal issue that won't change. Actually, it was inappropriate for Mrs. Charles to even see the President and put him in an awkward position. And she got what she wanted, a media publicity for justice. If I was her, I'd seek an alternative justice and that may not be pretty.
3 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Skeptical1 10/16/2019 10:26:38 AM (No. 208889)
We've probably all made mistakes that, but for fortune, would have had terrible consequences. In this case, luck was not with either driver. But it was just an understandable driving error and the dice happened to roll the wrong way. The so-called justice system will not restore the young man's life, nor salve the young woman's conscience. From the tone of DM's piece, and the snarky comments of the family's lawyer, I suspect that if she returned, she would be subjected to a show trial unlikely to produce anything recognizable as justice. In my travels in third world countries, I've found that the locals would sometimes run from the scene of an accident, even if they were just witnesses, because any encounter with the police was fraught with danger That used to seem odd to me, but now I completely understand it. Yesterday on this site, someone posted a review of "Licensed to Lie". I think that book makes my point.
1 person likes this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
DVC 10/16/2019 3:56:18 PM (No. 209171)
Another ugly American.
2 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Butch 10/17/2019 9:44:46 PM (No. 210405)
I doubt that Mr. and Mrs. Sacoolas had anything to say about staying in the UK and facing an open court hearing. Mr. Sacoolas is a spy working on intelligence work that´s beyond Top secret -- it´s a black box operation. Mrs Sacoolas remained at the accident scene, admitted fault to the British Police, and told them she had no intention to leave the country, which was likely true. It seems her husband´s boss had other ideas, and if she had disobeyed their instructions, the U.S. Government could have taken actions that would frighten the hell out of anyone. The Sacoolas family did what they were instructed to do, period.
At the White House, Harry Dunn´s parents refused to meet with Mrs. Sacoolas -- what is that about?!? As earlybird so rightly asks, what exactly do the parents want? The Dunns rejected a visit with Mrs. Sacoolas - imagine the courage it took for her to go to the White House, sit in an adjacent room, and make herself available to speak with Harry´s parents --and they rejected the visit. The Dunns rejected the exceptionally kind and gracious letter that Mrs. Sacoolas sent them, in which she apologized and accepted blame for the accident. What DO the Dunns want?
Matthew Broderick was involved in a similar accident in Northern Ireland. He stood trial and paid a £175 fine. He did no jail time. Is that what the Dunns want for Mrs. Sacoolas?
RIP Harry Dunn. He seems like a very nice young man, and he was taken too soon.
5 people like this.
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* after refusing his SURPRISE offer to meet their son's killer waiting in a room next door --- Mrs. Charles told reporters after the meeting they are “still more than willing to meet her ... but that needs to be on our terms, on UK soil. And we could still work with that justice system to do anything we could.” She further said it is not appropriate to meet with Anne Sacoolas “without therapists and mediators, let alone for us as a family. But also to her.” Mrs. Sacoolas did speak with the young man before he died, flagged down another driver, and went to comfort her children who were in her crashed vehicle.