American citizen Anne Sacoolas has pleaded guilty to killing British teenager Harry Dunn in a hit-and-run near a US military base.
The 45-year-old appeared by video-link from Washington at the Old Bailey today, where she admitted to causing the death of the 19-year-old motorcyclist by careless driving in August 2019.
The court heard she drove on the wrong side of the road for 300 metres before careering into Harry as he was "lawfully driving" his motorbike.
Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf by the US government following the crash near RAF Croughton, in Northamptonshire and was able to leave the UK 19 days after the incident.
In December 2019, the Crown Prosecution Service authorised Northamptonshire Police to charge her with causing Mr Dunn's death by dangerous driving.
On Thursday, she denied that charge but admitted the lesser offence when she appeared in Court One of the Old Bailey by video link.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb begged Sacoolas to travel to the UK to appear for sentencing next month - saying it would demonstrate "powerful mitigation" of "genuine remorse".
Speaking outside court, Mr Dunn's mother Charlotte Charles said that "of course" she wants Sacoolas to return to the UK to be sentenced.
She said: "I do very much hope that she listens to the judge's words and makes the effort to come back because that will truly show us all how remorseful she is.
"It's all well and good saying you're sorry but demonstrating you are is another matter."
Harry's father Tim Dunn said: "Anne will do what Anne will do - it's up to her what she does.
"But I would urge her on behalf of my entire family to do the right thing and come back for the sentencing hearing."
If Sacoolas refuses to make the trans-Atlantic trip and is handed a jail sentence she could be handed an Interpol red notice and spend the rest of her life a wanted fugitive.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: "Alongside an early guilty plea, one of the most powerful mitigating factors is whether a defendant shows remorse.
"Despite her conviction, there is no order I can make to compel her attendance to the Central Criminal Court for sentence.
"At the same time, there is no barrier to travelling to the UK to appear in court to be sentenced and none has been suggested.
"I direct that Mrs Sacoolas attend court in person to be sentenced. I remind everyone that this case concerns the sudden and unexpected death of a young man who was lawfully riding his motorbike with proper care and attention.
"The voluntary surrender to the court by Mrs Sacoolas would provide weighty evidence of genuine remorse."
Sacoolas pleaded guilty to a charge of causing death by careless driving, but denied another count of death by dangerous driving. Her plea was accepted by the prosecution.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said the plea was accepted by the Crown, adding: "Whilst the Crown recognises that objectively, driving on the wrong side of the road and putting at risk a vulnerable motorbike user amounts to dangerous driving, the culpability of an overseas national without experience of driving in this country can properly be approached as less than that.
"The plea has been considered at the very highest level and in consultation with Harry's family.
"The Crown believes that the plea of careless driving is an appropriate one and does not seek to try on count one."
The defendant, who is on unconditional bail, had identified herself before entering her pleas before senior judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb.
Mr Dunn's family, who had long campaigned for his killer to face justice, were sitting in court.
Both Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn held their heads in their hands as Sacoolas pleaded guilty.
Telling the court the Crown accepted the plea of causing death by careless driving, Mr Atkinson said: "The Crown recognises putting at risk a vulnerable road user is capable of amounting to dangerous driving.
"The prosecution has taken into account... the mitigation available to this defendant and the balance of justice.
"It has been considered at the very highest level.
"The Crown considers the plea of causing death by careless driving is one that is acceptable."
Mr Atkinson said the Crown would not be proceeding to trial on the causing death by dangerous driving charge.
The guilty plea was watched by around 20 members of Harry Dunn's family.
Harry's family campaigned for over three years for Sacoolas to face the UK justice system, which involved meetings with high-profile politicians and a trip to the White House.
The teenager's parents recalled the "relief" they felt as Sacoolas appeared on the screen at Westminster Magistrates' Court in September.
Mrs Charles said: "Walking towards court, there was still the apprehension of 'is she going to appear?'
"Until it actually happened you can't allow yourself to fully believe that it's going to happen this time.
"We've been here before, it was meant to happen in January and at the 11th hour the rug was pulled from beneath our feet.
"We were strong as a family - we walked tall and proud, held our heads up high and just aimed for those front doors.
"Even sitting in the courtroom was terrifying. It seemed to take forever for her to appear on that screen.
"It was probably the hardest time in the whole three years, that 12 minutes or 15 minutes waiting for her to appear.
"We could see other people on there (the video link) but we couldn't see her, the judge was coming out and I was thinking 'is there a last-minute technical hitch and they can't get in?"'
Mrs Charles continued: "The link took a while to come up - they were 10-12 minutes late and it felt like hours.
"Our knuckles were blue holding on to each other, from gripping each other so tightly.
"And then when she did appear it was almost like, relief."
Mr Dunn said: "When she did appear, it was like 'this is actually going to happen'..."
Outside court, Harry's family said they were "disgusted" by the US Government's handling of the case and demanded a public inquiry into their treatment.
She revealed the family accepted Sacoolas' guilty plea because they "didn't wish to separate her from her children".
But she admitted she "of course" wants Sacoolas to return to the UK for sentencing.
She said: "Immediately, we said that we didn't wish to separate her from her children. It's not their fault. Some of them were in the car with her that night.
"I can't even begin to imagine what nightmares they've had since then, because from the bits and pieces we do know, it was horrific.
"So with it being a remote process, we were more than happy with that, for their sake. They've always been in the forefront of our mind.
"When you're a mum and you know that you always want to be there to protect your children, her children are still important.
"So we just had to put our faith in our justice system, and we always did have faith in our justice system. And we had to rely on them to carry out whatever process they felt was suitable.
"We've never put any investment of thought or effort or any of our personal time into worrying about that. We're just happy with accountability."
She was charged in 2019 and a diplomatic row erupted when the Home Office launched proceedings to bring her back to the UK.
But the US State Department has the power to refuse extradition if they believe she still has diplomatic immunity and if the alleged offence is not a crime in both countries.
Harry's family have tirelessly fought for her to face justice, even meeting US President Donald Trump.
Harry's mum said she made a promise to Harry on the night he died to get justice for him, adding: "That night was and will always be the worst ever of our lives.
"I had no idea of what laid ahead, I had no idea that it was going to be this hard, but making that promise not only to him directly, hoping wherever he was at that point.
"I've never broken a promise to either of my boys, and I damn well was not going to start when I found out that it was not going to be as easy as I would have assumed it should have been."
The CPS charged Sacoolas in 2019 with causing death by dangerous driving.
It came after a file of evidence was handed to the CPS following an interview by Northamptonshire Police with Sacoolas in the US.
Sacoolas previously released a statement saying she would not "voluntarily" return to Britain to face a "potential jail sentence for what was a terrible but unintentional accident".
