THE defendant in a case that saw a US servicewoman collide with a motorcycle rider in the UK will be tried here after a British judge rules the US Air Force has no jurisdiction in the case.
Airman first class Mikayla Hayes is accused of crashing into Matthew Day, as he was riding his Yamaha along the A10 in Southery, in Norfolk. It’s reported that Hayes had requested to be tried in a US court, although judge Tan Ikram has ruled that the case must be heard within the UK’s legal system.
Hayes' lawyers were pushing for a US trial, as they claimed she was returning from work at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk at the time of the crash. They argued that this meant she was still on active duty at the time of the crash, something that they hoped would mean a US trial could be considered. Her legal team even put forward a case under the 1952 Visiting Forces Act, something they obviously hoped would assert jurisdiction over the case. That was overturned by Judge Ikram though, who argued that she was no longer on duty during her commute back to her home in the UK.
At the time of the incident, Hayes was arrested and charged with careless driving, later begin granted conditional bail.
Hayes is due to appear in Norwich Crown Court on December 21st.
The case draws parallels to that of the late Harry Dunn, who was tragically killed in 2019
US women to face trial in UK over the death of motorcycle rider
The case draws parallels to that of the late Harry Dunn, a young motorcycle enthusiast who was struck by the wife of a US diplomat who was stationed in the UK. That crash was reported to be due to the defendant, Anne Sacoolas, driving on the wrong side of the road before colliding with Mr Dunn’s motorcycle, although we cannot confirm if that is the same instance in the case of Matthew Day.
One difference in this case is that the defendant will be tried in the UK, something that Sacoolas has so far escaped. She fled the country on a USAF flight shortly after the crash, despite being arrested and charged in the incident. She left the country under the veil of diplomatic immunity, a situation UK courts, the public, and the government will not want to happen again.
