An American driver who crashed into a nurse before fleeing to the US is to be extradited.
Isaac Calderon was arrested in Texas last month, a year after ploughing into Elizabeth Donowho in Shucknall, Herefordshire, leaving her seriously injured.
An arrest warrant was issued for Mr Calderon, aged 22 at the time, after he failed to appear before magistrates on December 1, 2023.
Police later confirmed he left the UK on November 25, and flew to the US, where he was tracked down to his family home in Texas.
Court documents seen by The Telegraph show that Mr Calderon claimed during his extradition hearing that he âmissed his court date not due to a desire to flee, but to his lack of fundsâ.
He claimed that âhis only choice was to return to the United States or else be homeless in the UKâ.
The Texas court documents add that Mr Calderon âhas no moneyâ to travel to his court appearance in the UK and âsimply hopesâ the US will transfer him âfor freeâ.
The case has now been passed to Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, who has the final say on whether Mr Calderon will be extradited. It is understood that West Mercia Police is seeking his urgent return.
Mr Calderon stands accused of causing Ms Donowho serious injury by dangerous driving in July last year. Witnesses said he was doing 70mph in a 50mph zone before crashing head-on into Ms Donowho on the A4103.
The 57-year-old was left unable to walk for six weeks, having suffered two broken ankles and a fractured sternum.
When Mr Calderon was tracked down by a news outlet, his father said that he had paid for his son to fly home because he was âstruggling to support himselfâ and to help him seek medical treatment following the collision.
Ms Donowho, of Malvern, Worcestershire, previously told journalists that West Mercia Police said Mr Calderon was working on matters âthat might come under the Official Secrets Actâ.
However, he was later described by the US embassy as a âprivate citizenâ and is understood to not have diplomatic immunity.
The case closely mirrors that of Harry Dunn, a teenage motorcyclist who was killed by Anne Sacoolas, a US citizen, in 2019.
Sacoolas, who had been driving on the wrong side of the road, claimed diplomatic immunity after the fatal crash and fled to the US. She was finally handed a suspended sentence in December 2022 for causing death by careless driving but was never extradited.
Radd Seiger, a spokesman for Ms Donowho who also represented the Dunn family, urged the US government to order Mr Calderonâs âimmediate extraditionâ.
Mr Seiger said: âWe are very grateful to the judge in Houston for his time and consideration and for confirming that Mr Calderon should be extradited to the UK.
âHe should never have been allowed to leave in the first place. Mr Calderon is innocent until proven otherwise and will get a fair trial when he is back.
âElizabeth has had to wait far too long for the criminal proceedings to begin and we urge Blinken to order Mr Calderonâs immediate extradition in accordance with his obligations under the US-UK extradition treaty.â
Sir David Davis described the challenge of extraditing US citizens for crimes committed in the UK as a âparody of the justice systemâ.
The veteran Tory MP campaigned to change the rules of the extradition treaty in the wake of Dunnâs death.
Sir David said: âWhile it will be a good outcome in this individual case if he ends up being extradited, it does not resolve the massive disparities between the US and British interpretation of the extradition law and the US misuse of it.
âIf this case continues through to extradition, it does represent a small improvement, but it doesnât resolve the Dunn case and it doesnât resolve the many cases going the other way where British citizens are made to undergo a parody of the justice system.â
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