Harry Dunn’s mother ‘unspeakably hurt’ that son’s killer will not attend inquest

Harry Dunn’s mother has said she is “unspeakably hurt” that her son’s killer, Anne Sacoolas, has refused to attend the inquest into his death, saying it was “bitterly disappointing and, as a mother, utterly incomprehensible”.

An inquest into Dunn’s death opened on Monday, almost five years after the 19-year-old was killed when his motorcycle collided head-on with a vehicle driven by Sacoolas that was on the wrong side of the road outside a US military based in Northamptonshire in August 2019.

Speaking through tears, Charlotte Charles, Dunn’s mother, told the hearing that “learning that Anne Sacoolas will not be attending Harry’s inquest this week was bitterly disappointing and, as a mother, is utterly incomprehensible to me”.

“She could have chosen to give me and our family this opportunity to finally understand what led to Harry’s death that night. But no,” she said. “I am unspeakably hurt that she has chosen to hide instead and it cannot help but feel disrespectful to Harry, the life he had and the future he lost.”

Inquest proceedings were delayed due to a years-long fight by Dunn’s family to bring criminal charges against Sacoolas, who had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf by the US and left the UK 19 days after Dunn’s death.

The family’s campaign for justice included meeting Donald Trump at the White House to ask the then president to review a decision to block an extradition request for Sacoolas.

In December 2022, Sacoolas attended court remotely and was given an eight-month suspended sentence and disqualified from driving for 12 months after admitting to causing death by careless driving.

Harry’s father, Tim Dunn, read an emotional statement to Northampton coroner’s court on Monday in which he described comforting his son on the roadside after the crash.

“I could hear Harry moaning with pain, and I told him I was there and to let the doctors do their thing to help him,” he said. “I told him ‘I will see you at the hospital. Do what the doctors say, and I love you.’ Little did I know these would be my last words to him and the last time I would see him alive.

“To this day, this part haunts me. I wish I did more, said more or just held him. As he was being loaded into the ambulance, even though I could see his bones sticking out of his arms, I did not think he would die.”

Dunn’s twin brother, Niall Dunn, said: “I don’t think there’s anything I can say that would describe him better than someone who would do anything for his brother.”

The four-day inquest, before the senior coroner Anne Pember, is expected to examine what training was given to Sacoolas about driving in the UK, the history of road traffic collisions in that area, as well as whether delays by emergency services caused or contributed to Dunn’s death.