US military base probing claims of further road crash involving staff member

The US military base involved in the Harry Dunn scandal is "looking into" claims of another staff member driving on the wrong side of the road before smashing into a stone wall.

Pictures surfaced on Wednesday evening of a black BMW which had veered off the road in the village of Aynho, Northamptonshire.

The incident was a couple of miles down the road from RAF Croughton where Mr Dunn was killed in August last year.

The suspect in Mr Dunn's death, Anne Sacoolas, claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash and was able to return to the US.

An extradition request for Mrs Sacoolas was rejected by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in January after she was charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

Following Mr Dunn's death, the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police, Nick Adderley, said he would fund driver training at RAF Croughton in an attempt to prevent similar incidents.

In January, Mr Adderley announced there had been two further incidents of American staff driving on the wrong side of the road after Mr Dunn's death.

The PA news agency understands that the Dunn family's local MP, Andrea Leadsom, is due to speak with police on Thursday about the latest incident.

It is understood the former business secretary is attempting to arrange a virtual meeting between the Dunn family and the base commander at RAF Croughton, Colonel Bridget McNamara.

Meeting
Meeting

A spokeswoman for RAF Croughton told PA the base was looking into the most recent claims and would release further information when they were able to.

Dunn family spokesman Radd Seiger told PA the Government was "failing in their duty to... safeguard our lives" and described the US administration as a "disgrace".

He said: "What is it going to take before something is done?

"The loss of Harry Dunn was not enough. The near misses since his death have not been enough. Will this disastrous crash tonight make any difference?

"The UK Government are failing in their duty to protect and safeguard our lives.

"I have made it clear to them that enough is enough and they must do whatever it takes, this being British soil, to make sure that the Americans drive in accordance with our laws when they come off the base.

"As for the American government, they are a disgrace. They have failed to engage with us at all to discuss how they are going to improve safety for their benefit as well as ours.

"They have their heads buried in the sand. Well, we will not stand for this any longer and I will be making representations in the strongest possible terms.

"If, as seems inevitable, there is further bloodshed, it will be on theirs and the UK Government's hands."

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