An inquest into Harry Dunn’s death heard from his twin, who said he “couldn’t have asked for a better brother”.
The 19-year-old was hit by Anne Sacoolas in August 2019, after she drove her Volvo on the wrong side of the B4031 while Harry was riding a motorbike. He died at hospital the same day.
Niall Dunn, Harry’s twin, gave a statement to an inquest into his brother’s death on Monday, referring to him as “an amazing person” who helped him when he found life hard-going.
“Growing up I found it more difficult than he did,” he said in a video played to the court. “Certain situations stressed me out a lot, and I found some things that shouldn’t be difficult, quite difficult.
“But Harry knew that. He would deal with it, and he wouldn’t tell me either… He wouldn’t tell me that he was being nice to me, he would just do it. That just means everything to me.”
‘You find less joy’
Niall then said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better brother, but beyond that, just a better person to just be forced to know. I was forced to grow up with him, he was my twin, and yet I could not have grown up more lucky.
“Every day we feel the effects of him not being here anymore. You smile less. In general you just find less joy, often because he was the one bringing it with him, and it’s tough – it’s really tough – not having that support system.
“I don’t think there’s anything I can say that would describe him better than someone who would do anything for his brother. I hope that gives you some idea of how much he meant to me.”
Read more: Harry’s remains ‘kept by police for more than four years’
Sacoolas, an American, claimed diplomatic immunity following the collision outside US military base RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, and left the UK 19 days later.
She was initially described as a diplomat’s wife, but it later transpired that she was employed by a US intelligence agency at the time of the crash.
Appearing in court via video link from Washington DC, the 45-year-old later pleaded guilty to causing Harry’s death by careless driving in October 2022.
She was then sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and banned from driving for a year in December that year.
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‘Another kick to the stomach’
Last year, Northamptonshire coroner Anne Pember issued a request to Sacoolas ahead of the inquest where she invited her to attend remotely.
The witness list for the inquest showed Sacoolas will instead have her evidence read to the court on Tuesday. In a statement, the family’s spokesperson Radd Seiger called it “yet another kick to the stomach”.
Speaking during the inquest on Monday, Harry’s mum Charlotte Charles added: “She could have chosen to give me and our family this opportunity to finally understand what led to Harry’s death that night. But no.
“I am unspeakably hurt that she has chosen to hide instead and it cannot help but feel disrespectful to Harry, the life he had and the future he lost.”
Counsel to the inquest, Briony Ballard, said the coroner could not “force or compel an individual to attend”.
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Inquest delay ‘most cruel’
Ahead of the inquest on Monday, Mr Seiger said outside of court, “it’s been almost five years since Harry Dunn died, unbelievably,” and both parents want proceedings to get under way.
“The most cruel thing that the Americans did in delaying justice for Harry Dunn was delaying this inquest,” he added. “This poor family should not have had to wait all this time.”
Ms Charles said she was “angry, really, to be perfectly honest” about the delay, and added: “We had to fight for three-and-a-half years to even get to the Old Bailey, to get our form of justice done, and then to have to wait another 18 months after that for our inquest is just, I think, pretty much unheard of.”
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Tim Dunn, Harry’s dad, also said: “I feel like, as a family, we need this now. It’s been an extremely long time. I struggle to think of a life before all this.”
