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Family of U.K. man killed in crash with diplomat’s wife met with Trump: spokesperson

Family of U.K. teen killed in crash calls on U.S. diplomat's wife to meet with them – Oct 15, 2019

The family of a British teen who was fatally struck in a collision with an American diplomat’s wife met with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to the family’s spokesperson.

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Dunn family spokesperson Radd Seiger said in a tweet Tuesday the family “will review where we are up to” and that “the search for #Justice4Harry continues,” after their meeting with the president.

Harry Dunn, 19, was fatally struck while on his motorcycle in a collision with Anne Sacoolas, the wife of American official Jonathan Sacoolas, outside of the Royal Air Force base in Croughton, England, on Aug. 27.

Mrs. Sacoolas, who is accused of being a suspect in the investigation, subsequently left Britain and claimed diplomatic immunity through her husband.

READ MORE: Family of young man killed in crash call upon diplomat’s wife to return to U.K.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he doesn’t think it’s right to “use the process of diplomatic immunity for this type of purpose,” urging Sacoolas to return. Johnson was also reported to have spoken with Trump last week, asking the U.S. to reconsider their position so that Sacoolas would be able to return and cooperate with U.K. police and “allow Harry’s family to receive justice.”

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U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is reported to have said in a letter to the Dunn family that diplomatic immunity is “no longer relevant in Mrs. Sacoolas’s case, because she has returned home.”

A statement released on behalf of Sacoolas said “Anne is devasted by this tragic accident. No loss compares to the death of a child and Anne extends her deepest sympathy to Harry Dunn’s family,” and noted she had already spoken with British authorities at the scene and would continue to cooperate.

Seiger first announced the meeting earlier on Twitter, Tuesday, saying that the White House had “just invited #HarryDunn’s parents and I to a meeting this afternoon.” It was unclear at the time whether or not the family would be meeting with Trump.

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The family previously held a press conference Monday in New York where they urged Sacoolas to return to Britain.

Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles asked Sacoolas to “do the right thing” and to face both the British legal system and “us, a broken family,” during the press conference, according to The Associated Press.

“She needs to set an example to her own children that you can’t run away,” said Charles.

According to the Guardian, Sacoolas’s son was also present in the front seat of her car at the time of the crash.

READ MORE: 13-year-old boy driving SUV causes multi-vehicle collision in North York, police watchdog investigating

“That would have been a traumatic experience for her son, and I’m sure the Sacoolas family are dealing with matters that are tragic as well,” Mark Stephens, one of the lawyers advising the Dunn family, told the Guardian.

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Dunn’s parents also appeared Monday on CBS This Morning, where his father, Tim Dunn, described in detail Harry’s last moments and the scene of the crash, which happened in close vicinity to a British air force base.

“I called out to him and said, ‘Harry, it’s your dad. They’re going to fix you. … Be calm. Let them help you,” he said.

“You’re going to be OK … and then they sedated him and then that was the last time.”

Last week, Trump called the collision a “terrible accident,” and said that officials would speak with the driver to “see what we can come up with.”

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Trump also addressed Sacoolas driving on the wrong side of the road, and said that in the U.S., people drive on the right while those in Britain drive on the left.

“The woman was driving on the wrong side of the road,” Trump said, according to The Associated Press. “And that can happen.”

– With files from the Associated Press

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