US driver 'flees' UK after Herefordshire car crash

An American man believed to be working for US intelligence services has fled the UK, following a car crash in Herefordshire which left a British nurse unable to walk for six weeks.

Issac Calderon, 22, was due to appear at Kidderminster Magistrates Court on 1 December, accused of causing Elizabeth Donowho serious injury by dangerous driving.

Calderon was "allegedly described as a flight risk by detectives", said The Telegraph, although Donowho received assurances he "would stay in the country to face justice". But after absconding, a warrant was issued for Calderon's arrest.

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The 22-year-old is thought to have departed the UK on a "commercial flight to Houston, Texas", on 25 November, said Sky News. 

The 31 July crash on the A4103 near Shucknall left 56-year-old Donowho with "two broken ankles, a fractured sternum and a broken bone in her hand", The Telegraph said.

She suggested Calderon "could be anywhere in the world now", and that he may not return.

"Mystery surrounds" the true identity of Calderon, said Sky News. Donowho claimed she was told he had been "visiting a British special forces base (SAS) near Hereford", but a West Mercia Police spokesperson told the broadcaster they were "unaware of any connection to the SAS base". 

During a court hearing, Calderon's occupation was given as "an American soldier", the Hereford Times added. This later could not be confirmed by police.

The case has been likened to that of Anne Sacoolas, a US spy who fled the country claiming diplomatic immunity, after involvement in a crash which killed British teenager, Harry Dunn.

Dunn's mother is now "in contact with Ms Donowho", the BBC added. Unlike the Sacoolas case, it is understood there are "no issues surrounding diplomatic immunity". 

A US Embassy spokesperson declined to comment on "ongoing litigation in cases involving US citizens". The Home Office "would neither confirm or deny" whether a request for extradition had been submitted.