US woman appears via videolink in UK in fatal accident case

LONDON – An American woman who fled the U.K. claiming diplomatic immunity after she was involved in a fatal traffic accident has appeared in a British court via videolink — an apparent breakthrough in the long-deadlocked case.

Anne Sacoolas, 45, was accompanied by her lawyer during the 6-minute hearing Thursday at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, speaking only to confirm her name. The court granted her unconditional bail and scheduled the next hearing for Oct. 27.

Sacoolas was charged with causing death by dangerous driving after an August 2019 accident in which 19-year-old Harry Dunn was killed when his motorcycle collided with a car outside RAF Croughton, an air base in eastern England that is used by U.S. forces.

Sacoolas and her husband, who had been a U.S. intelligence officer at the air base, returned to America days after the accident. The U.S. government invoked diplomatic immunity on her behalf, prompting an outcry in Britain.

Dunn’s family has met with politicians in the U.K. and the U.S. to demand that Sacoolas face justice in a British court. But American authorities rejected Britain’s extradition request.