UK court to hold hearing for US woman in teen’s road death

LONDON (AP) — A court case against an American citizen who left Britain after being involved in a crash that killed a teenage motorcyclist more than three years ago will be heard this week, U.K. prosecutors said Monday.

The Crown Prosecution Service said there will be a hearing in the case against Anne Sacoolas at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday — an apparent breakthrough in the long-deadlocked case.

British prosecutors previously set a January 2022 date for the hearing, but canceled it days beforehand to allow for discussions with Sacoolas’ lawyers. At the time, the law firm representing Sacoolas denied that she had agreed to appear in a British court.

Sacoolas is expected to appear virtually at Thursday’s procedural hearing.

Sacoolas, 45, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving in the death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn, who was killed in a collision with a car outside RAF Croughton, an air base in eastern England used by U.S. forces, in August 2019.

Sacoolas returned to the U.S. days later and the American government invoked diplomatic immunity on her behalf, prompting an outcry in Britain.

Dunn’s family have pressed politicians in Britain and the United States to get Sacoolas to face British justice, but an extradition request was refused by U.S. authorities.

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