President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he’s planning to get involved in the case of an American diplomat’s wife who left the U.K. after becoming a suspect in a fatal wrong-way crash.
Trump, who spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier in the day, told reporters at the White House that the case was “a terrible accident” and that he understands the “tremendous anger” some are feeling.
“We’re going to speak to her very shortly and see if we can do something where they meet,” he said of the woman and the victim’s parents. “We’re going to speak to her and see what we can come up with so that there can be some healing.”
The Aug. 27 crash near RAF Croughton, a British military base, killed 19-year-old Harry Dunn, who was on a motorcycle at the time. The woman, who is 42, is protected by diplomatic immunity because of her position.
But Johnson has urged her to return to the U.K. to face investigation, saying he doesn’t think it’s right to “use the process of diplomatic immunity for this type of purpose.”
Trump, who was asked about the case during an executive order signing, said the issue was “very, very complex.”
“You have two wonderful parents that lost their son. And the woman was driving on the wrong side of the road,” he said, telling reporters “that can happen” when Americans aren’t used to driving on the left side of the road.
“I won’t say it ever happened to me, but it did. When you get used to driving on our system and then you’re all of a sudden on the other system where you’re driving … You have to be careful,” he said.
Johnson’s office had said earlier that, during their phone call, the prime minister had urged Trump “to reconsider the U.S. position” so the driver “can return to the U.K., cooperate with police and allow Harry’s family to receive justice.”
“The leaders agreed to work together to find a way forward as soon as possible,” his office said.
The woman’s name has not been officially released.
The Associated Press contributed to this article