A US soldier who fled the UK following a car crash which left a nurse unable to walk will reportedly be extradited from America next month.
Issac Calderon was charged with causing Elizabeth Donowho serious injury by dangerous driving last year but failed to appear at a court hearing.
West Mercia Police later said he had boarded a commercial flight back to Houston, Texas days prior to his scheduled appearance at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court last December.
He was tracked down to his parents’ house in Humble, Texas by journalists this summer and an extradition request was filed in the state.
According to BBC Hereford and Worcester, US authorities have approved Mr Calderon’s extradition and have asked West Mercia Police to “collect” him from Texas early next month.
The 23-year-old was understood to be working for the US military and had visited a Special Air Service in Hereford when he was involved in a collision on the A4103 near Shucknall in Herefordshire on July 31, 2023.
He was described as a “US soldier” during the court hearing that took place in his absence in December.
Ms Donowho, of Malvern, Worcestershire, said she suffered two broken ankles which left her unable to walk for six weeks after the crash.
The 56-year-old also suffered a fractured sternum and a broken bone in her hand.
Mr Calderon also required hospital treatment following the collision, and was later served with a court summons.
The incident drew comparisons with the case of Anne Sacoolas, a US government employee who returned home after killing teenager Harry Dunn while driving on the wrong side of the road.
However, it is understood that there are no issues surrounding diplomatic immunity in Mr Calderon’s case.
Ms Donowho said she was told in the aftermath of the crash that because the driver was American “he was a flight risk and they were working much more quickly than usual” to get him to court.
“They cited the case of Anne Sacoolas and repeated that he was obviously a flight risk,” she told The Telegraph last year.
“They said they had spoken with our military police, who had then spoken with American military police who had guaranteed that he would stay in the country to face justice.”
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