Harry Dunn’s grief-stricken mum has blasted his alleged killer after she offered to make a “contribution” in his memory - but not face justice in the UK.
Charlotte Charles said “there is no price on Harry’s life” after Anne Sacoolas made the offer 19 months after the crash that killed 19-year-old motorcyclist Harry.
A lawyer for Ms Sacoolas, who fled to the US claiming diplomatic immunity after the accident outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, made the offer in a BBC interview.
Lawyer Amy Jeffress said Sacoolas, 43, has "never denied" responsibility for the crash.
But she said that, since the charge pending in Britain against Sacoolas would not usually result in a prison sentence in the US, her client is not inclined to return to the UK to face trial.
Instead, the lawyer told Radio 4’s Law in Action programme: “ We understand that community service is a typical sentence for offences like this.
"We have offered ever since, over a year ago, that she would be willing to serve that kind of a sentence and to make a contribution in Harry's memory, to take other steps to try to bring some peace to the family."
She said Sacoolas is "truly sorry for Harry's family and the pain that his has caused".
"She's willing to meet with the family to provide whatever information they are seeking; and we truly hope that we can do that and give the family some measure of peace."
But Harry’s mum Charlotte Charles told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There is no price on Harry’s life. I’m not willing to discuss a contribution, whatever she may mean by that.
“She needs to go through the UK justice system. We all know diplomatic immunity is not there to cover somebody for killing a child in the way it happened and to be able to walk away.”
In a moving interview, Ms Charles said she made a promise to her son to get justice on the night he died and “there are no circumstances at all under which I will break that promise”.
She added: “It’s literally unbreakable - that bond never gets broken, it’s never severed, the heart’s in pieces, every bone in your body can hurt and it can ache.
“But that determination and that love for your child just holds you together and gives you everything you need to carry on.”
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland added: “The current situation is a denial of justice.
“Rather than talking about the sentence that would be appropriate, let’s actually deal with the question of liability first.”
The US government asserted diplomatic immunity on behalf of 43-year-old Sacoolas following the crash which killed Harry.
She was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, but an extradition request submitted by the Home Office was rejected by the US State Department in January last year.
Ms Jeffress said she and Sacoolas were striving to resolve the case in a manner that would not involve a return to the UK.
Ms Jeffress said Sacoolas had only been in the UK for "a few weeks" when she had made the tragic mistake of "instinctively" driving her car on the wrong side of the road and collided with Mr Dunn's motorcycle.
But she added that such cases in the US are only prosecuted criminally if there is "evidence of recklessness that rises to the level of close to intent - drunk-driving, distracted driving, a hit-and-run situation or excessive speeding ... But there was none of that here".
Dunn family spokesman Radd Seiger said: "We have one of the fairest legal systems in the world and it is vitally important that justice is not only done for Harry, but is seen to be done.
"Mrs Sacoolas must give a full account of what happened under oath in court and the matter must then be left in the hands of judge and jury.
"It is not for any of us to discuss what might be or what might not be the sentence. That is a matter ultimately for the court to determine."
Ms Jeffress's comments came after the Dunn family was given the go-ahead to proceed with a civil claim for damages against Sacoolas and her husband.
A judge's ruling in Virginia takes them a step closer to a legal showdown with Sacoolas, 18 months on from the teenager's death.
Should there be no settlement in the case, the next legal step would be a "deposition", in which Sacoolas and her husband would be forced to provide their account of events outside court.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “We’ve always sought to extradite and we’ve asked for the extradition of Anne Sacoolas and the denial of that we see as a denial of justice. We’ve always said she should return to the UK and we continue to support Harry Dunn’s family in their fight for justice.”
