The inquest into Harry Dunn’s death heard from his twin who said he “couldn’t have asked for a better brother”.
The 19-year-old was run over Anne Sacoolas in August 2019, after he drove his Volvo on the wrong side of the B4031 while Harry was driving a motorbike. He died in the hospital the same day.
Niall Dunn Harry Twin gave a statement at an inquest into his brother’s death on Monday, referring to him as “an incredible person” who helped him when life was difficult.
“Growing up, I found it harder than him,” he said in a video shown on the court. “Certain situations stressed me out a lot and I found some things that shouldn’t be difficult, quite difficult.
“But Harry knew. He would deal with it and he wouldn’t tell me either… He wouldn’t tell me he was being nice to me, he would just do it. That means everything to me.”
‘You find less joy’
Niall then said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better brother, but beyond that, just a better person who I was forced to know. I was forced to grow up with him, he was my twin and yet I couldn’t.” I have grown up luckier.
“Every day we feel the effects of him not being here anymore. You smile less. In general, you just find less joy, often because he was the one who brought it with him, and it’s hard, it’s really hard, not having that support system .
“I don’t think there’s anything I can say that describes him better than someone who would do anything for his brother. I hope that gives you an idea of how much he meant to me.”
Read more: Harry’s remains ‘kept by police for more than four years’
Sacoolas, an American, claimed diplomatic immunity following the collision outside the US military base RAF Croughton in Northamptonshireand left the UK 19 days later.
She was initially described as the wife of a diplomat, but it was later learned that she was employed by a US intelligence agency at the time of the crash.
Appearing in court via video link from Washington DC, the 45-year-old later pleaded guilty to causing Harry’s death for careless driving in October 2022.
she was then sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months and banned from driving for a year in December of that year.
From 2022: ‘Harry, we’ve done it!’
‘Another kick in the stomach’
Last year, Northamptonshire coroner Anne Pember sent a request to Sacoolas ahead of the inquest inviting her to attend remotely.
The inquest’s witness list showed Sacoolas will have his evidence read in court on Tuesday. In a statement, family spokesman Radd Seiger called it “another kick in the gut.”
At Monday’s inquest, Harry’s mother Charlotte Charles added: “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.”
“It hurts me so much that she chose to hide and I can’t help but feel disrespectful to Harry, the life he had and the future he lost.”
Inquest barrister Briony Ballard said the coroner could not “force or compel an individual to attend”.
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The delay in the investigation is “very cruel”
Before Monday’s inquest, Seiger said outside court: “It’s been almost five years since Harry Dunn died, incredibly,” and both parents want the process to begin.
“The cruelest thing the Americans did in delaying justice for Harry Dunn was delaying this investigation,” he added. “This poor family shouldn’t have had to wait all this time.”
Mrs Charles said she was “angry, really, to be perfectly honest” about the delay, adding: “We had to fight for three and a half years to even get to the Old Bailey, to get our form of justice.” fact, and then having to wait another 18 months for our investigation is, I think, practically unheard of.
Tim Dunn, Harry’s father, also said: “I feel like as a family we need this now. It’s been a long time. I’m struggling to think of a life before all this.”
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