A lawyer who represents Brits involved in cases with American military personnel has demanded action to stem the ‘river of blood’ flowing from crashes near US bases.
Radd Seiger, who represents the family of Harry Dunn and latest crash victim Elizabeth Donowho, has revealed that he is dealing with more than 10 new cases among ‘thousands’.
Motorcyclist Mr Dunn, 19, died in August 2019, when he was struck by a car driven by former US spy Anne Sacoolas outside RAF Croughton, a US military base in Northamptonshire.
Meanwhile in July, 56-year-old nurse Ms Donowho was left unable to walk following a serious collision with a US citizen Isaac Calderon, who had been visiting an SAS base in Herefordshire.
The suspected US spy – who was due to appear in court on December 1 – has sparked anger by fleeing from the UK after the crash. He has reportedly been tracked down to his family home in Texas.
Radd Seiger (pictured with Harry Dunn’s family outside Old Bailey last year), who represents the family of Harry Dunn and the latest crash victim Elizabeth Donowho, has revealed that he is dealing with more than 10 new cases among ‘thousands’
Mr Dunn (pictured), 19, died in August 2019, when he was struck by a car driven by former US spy Anne Sacoolas outside RAF Croughton, a US base
West Mercia Police are understood to have told Ms Donowho that Calderon was ‘associated with the Secret Service’.
There was a similar extradition row following the death of Mr Dunn after his killer, Sacoolas, fled the UK using diplomatic immunity.
She later pleaded guilty from the US via videolink and was sentenced to to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months after a determined three-year battle by Mr Dunn’s loved ones.
Mr Seiger told The Mirror that since Mr Dunn’s tragic death, several more cases have ‘come out of the woodwork’.
He said: ‘Harry Dunn was by no means the first victim of terrible American driving, nor tragically has he been the last. It is [the British and American authorities’] first duty to keep us safe, and they have failed Harry’s family, Elizabeth and thousands of others.
Mr Seiger said that he has called for a public inquiry into the ‘absolute scandal’, adding: ‘Something must now be done to stem the river of blood flowing on the roads outside US bases, and both governments need to be held to account.’
He said he had been assured by James Cleverly, Foreign Secretary at the time, that no American would flee like Sacoolas did.
But now Isaac Calderon is the latest to flee back to the US amid an investigation. The 22-year-old, who is wanted by West Mercia Police, was due to appear at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on December 1, charged with causing Ms Donowho serious injury by dangerous driving.
Sky News reported on Wednesday that he is now back living with his parents in his hometown of Humble, Texas.
Elizabeth Donowho, a 56-year-old nurse, was left unable to walk following a serious collision with a US citizen Isaac Calderon, who had been visiting an SAS base in Herefordshire.
Ms Donowho, from Malvern, Worcestershire, told Sky News she felt ‘pleased that Mr Calderon has been found’ and wanted him to ‘face our justice system as soon as possible’.
She previously said she had ‘suffered multiple fractures’ during the collision, including to her sternum, right hand and both ankles.
Calderon, who Ms Donowho said was described as a ‘flight risk’ by police, was able to leave the UK on a commercial flight on November 25 and return to Houston, Texas.
West Mercia Police told Ms Donowho that Calderon had been carrying out work ‘associated with the secret service’ and working on matters ‘that might come under the Official Secrets Act’ before the crash on the A4103 near Shucknall in Herefordshire on July 31.
Mr Calderon also reportedly said his son is part of the American National Guard and serves ‘a few weeks a year’.
He said his son would not be able to discuss the case further as he is seeking legal advice and claimed they had not heard from US or UK authorities recently.
At his home in Humble, Calderon’s father, Manuel, confirmed his son is living there and claimed the incident has been ‘blown out of proportion’.
Airman first class Mikayla Hayes (pictured), 24, was driving home from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk when she allegedly failed to spot Matthew Day approaching. Her trial is ongoing
Calderon reportedly said his son had been in the UK on a work visa and had recently been employed in a warehouse, although he could not remember the company’s name.
According to Sky News, he said he paid for his son to fly home because he was ‘struggling to support himself’, and so he could seek further medical treatment following the collision.
It comes amid a separate trial involving a US servicewoman killing a motorcyclist near her base in Norfolk.
Airman first class Mikayla Hayes, 24, was driving home from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk when she allegedly failed to spot Matthew Day approaching.
The father-of-one died from massive injuries after his Yamaha motorbike collided with Hayes’ maroon Honda Accord on the 60mph A road.
The defendant, who denies causing death by careless driving, claims she didn’t see Mr Day’s red and white motorbike as it ‘blended into the road and sky’.