Harry Dunn 's mum has spoken of how his passing has left her a "broken woman" and continues to "haunt her to her core", as Anne Sacoolas is spared jail.
Anne Sacoolas, a US spy’s wife, was charged with "failure to pay full time and attention" after she allegedly knocked Harry off his bike while driving her Volvo, killing the 19-year-old motorcyclist while driving on the wrong side of a road in Northampton in August 2019.
However, 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.
Today, she was sentenced at the Old Bailey for causing Harry's death by careless driving, but was spared jail as judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb handed her an eight-month suspended sentence, suspended for 12 months.
She was sentenced live on TV on Thursday, after a renewed application for her to appear via video link was granted - despite sentencing judge Mrs Cheema-Grubb urging her to return to Britain to face justice.
In a victim impact statement, Harry Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles introduced herself before telling of how her world was turned "upside down" on August 27 2019.
“My beautiful son Harry, twin brother of Niall, is gone and is never coming back," Ms Charles said.
“For 19 years, I had the enormous privilege and joy of nurturing and raising Harry, who was the light of my life before he was so senselessly and cruelly taken from us.”
Continuing her victim impact statement, Ms Charles described how she was "haunted to the core" when thinking of her failure to get to the hospital before her son passed away.
“My job is to comfort my children and I wasn’t there for Harry to comfort him in what must have been an awful and painful, slow death, particularly as he lay on the side of the road waiting for an ambulance bleeding to death," she said.
“I beat myself up over and over again and wish I had left work earlier so that I could have gotten to him in time.
“If I had left work on time that night, I would have been able to delay him leaving the house, so that he wouldn’t have been travelling along the same road as Anne Sacoolas.”
The mum continued to fight away tears as she said: “His passing haunts me every minute of every day and I’m not sure how I’m ever going to get over it
.
“I have started counselling but the psychological damage that’s been caused is almost impossible to describe. Tears flow constantly and my mood ranges from anger to solemn all the time.
“I have been shaken to the point of breaking and the only thing that keeps me going every day is looking after Niall and Harry’s other siblings, and ensuring that we get justice for Harry.
“I made a promise to Harry in the hospital that we would get him justice and a mother never breaks a promise to her son.”
While Ms Charles said she somehow managed to find the strength to front Harry's campaign, off-camera people didn't see the real her - a woman left vulnerable and scared to face her life without him.
“He had his whole life in front of him and it breaks my heart that he was cut down so young, ready to take the step into adulthood and fulfil all his dreams."
She said there wasn't a "single part" of her that hadn't been affected by the loss of Harry, which had left a void in her life that she didn't know how to fill.
“Sleep is difficult. Waking up is worse," she said.
“The thought of Harry suffering before he died and his passing itself is always there and always will be. I just want to wrap my arms around him, cuddle him, love him, talk to him and I can’t any more.
She continued to say: “It is just so cruel what has happened. I’ll never be able to put any kids that Harry might have had on my knees and bounce them up and down like any grandma would be able to, or look into their eyes and wonder at how much they looked like Harry.”
Paying tribute to her son, Ms Charles told the Old Bailey that the bond between a mother and her children was a "special one".
"My bond has been torn apart and although he is not here with me physically, I hope one day to be able to rebuild the bond between he and I.
“When Harry was little, I often wondered what he would grow up to be like as an adult. Well, he didn’t let me down.
“He turned out to be every bit as special as I hoped he would be. Cheeky, happy, hard-working, popular, caring and he knew right from wrong, which I was so proud of.
“He was one in a million and his smile and laughter were infectious. His passing has left a gaping hole in every fibre of my entire being.”
Concluding the first of two statements, Charlotte Charles said: “I continue to mourn Harry’s loss and will never get over it.
“As a family we are determined that his death will not have been in vain and we are involved in a number of projects to try to find some silver lining in this tragedy and to help others. That will be Harry’s legacy.
“He was always looking after others and we will carry on his work in his absence.
“I am a broken woman and only hope that one day I will be able to start looking forward to things again with Harry on my shoulder whispering in my ear that he loves me and me doing the same for him.”
