The coroner at the inquest into Harry Dunn’s death has recommended better driving training for Americans at the RAF base near where the 19-year-old was killed.
Mr Dunn was hit by Anne Sacoolas in August 2019 after she drove her Volvo on the wrong side of the B4031 in Northamptonshire while he was riding his motorbike.
He died in hospital the same day.
The coroner concluded that Mr Dunn died as a result of a road traffic collision and issued three future prevention of death warnings.
Two preventive death warnings were due to drugs paramedics were carrying and overstretched ambulance services.
The third warning was issued to the Foreign Office and the MOD surrounding driver training at RAF Croughton.
Northamptonshire coroner Anne Pember criticized the US government for the lack of training provided to employee Anne Sacoolas before the accident.
Sacoolas was absent from the four-day inquest and there were no US embassy representatives present – prompting Dunn family spokesman Radd Seiger to say that the US government’s position is that “the lives of citizens of the United Kingdom United like Harry ultimately don’t matter.”
Speaking after the conclusion of the inquiry, Seiger said that Labor, if it comes to power, has promised the family a public inquiry into how Sacoolas was able to leave the country with diplomatic immunity after causing Harry’s death.
“We will not let [the US government] get away with it and we look forward to working with the next government to establish this public inquiry,” he said.
“We were all horrified as a nation to see how the US government treated Harry’s family.
“The American national anthem ends with ‘land of the free, home of the brave’. They did not show an ounce of bravery, preferring to run, hide and obstruct.”
Evidence and two witness statements from Sacoolas were read during the inquest, after the US government official rejected the coroner’s invitation to appear in person.
In one of Sacoolas’ testimonials apologized for the “tragic mistake” she did it on the day of the accident and said it was something she would live with “every day for the rest of my life.”
She said that when she left RAF Croughton, turning left, she instinctively moved to the right side of the road as she was “used to driving in the USA”.
She also told Northamptonshire Police in a voluntary interview two months after the accident that she was a “safe driver” but “drove like an American and drove on the American side of the road”.
The 45-year-old said she received no training to drive on UK roads after arriving in the country and following the accident “hysterically flagged down a driver” and “begged her to get help”.
“Not a day goes by that Harry is not on my mind and I am deeply sorry for the pain I have caused,” the statement read.
Reacting to the statements, Seiger said: “We’ve heard a lot of this before.
“Why on earth is Sacoolas not in court to answer questions from the court and the family?”
Sacoolas left Britain 19 days after the crash, after the US State Department asserted diplomatic immunity on his behalf.
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She appeared before a judge at the High Court at the Old Bailey via video conference in December 2022, where she pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.
Sacoolas was advised not to attend the State Department’s sentencing hearing, prompting the Dunn family to say they were “horrified” that the American government was “actively interfering in our criminal justice system.”
She was sentenced to eight months in prisonsuspended for one year.
Tribute to Harry Dunn’s twin
The inquest also heard from Mr Dunn twin brother Niall who referred to him as “an incredible person” who helped him when he found life difficult.
In a video played at the inquest, he said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better brother, but beyond that, just a better person to be forced to know.”
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