US ‘spy’, 22, who fled the UK when he crashed into a nurse, 56, and left her unable to walk is due in court after being arrested in Texas
A US soldier who fled the UK after running over a nurse is due to appear in court today after being arrested in Texas.
Isaac Calderon, 22, left 56-year-old Elizabeth Donowho with multiple fractures after the accident in Herefordshire in July last year.
Calderon was due to appear at Kidderminster Crown Court on December 1 to answer a charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Police labelled him a potential ‘flight risk’, but he was nevertheless able to leave the UK on a flight to Texas on November 25.
He was reportedly arrested at his Texas home yesterday and is scheduled to appear in court in Houston later today.
Isaac Calderon (pictured) was labelled a potential ‘flight risk’ by police but was able to leave the UK on a flight to Texas on 25 November.
Elizabeth Donowho (pictured) suffered multiple fractures in the crash in Herefordshire last July
Radd Seiger, Ms Donowho’s adviser and spokesman, said: ‘It’s been almost a year since Elizabeth suffered the accident that nearly took her life.
‘We do not know why the extradition process has taken so long, but we are pleased to see it now underway and we look forward to Mr Calderon being returned to the UK shortly to face our justice system. He is of course innocent of the charges against him until proven guilty.’
Calderon was said to have been visiting an SAS base in Herefordshire at the time of the crash. His occupation was given in court as ‘American soldier’.
West Mercia Police are said to have told Ms Donowho he had ‘connections with the Secret Service’.
In December, Calderon’s uncle told the Daily Mail that he should return to face trial.
He said Calderon may have “panicked” but urged him to fly back to Britain because “there is no honour to be had in the race”.
He is accused of colliding with Ms Donowho, 56, on the A4103 near Shucknall on July 31. Ms Donowho, from Malvern, Worcestershire, was unable to walk for six weeks after suffering a broken sternum and two broken ankles.
Calderon was due to appear in Kidderminster District Court on December 1 but instead boarded a scheduled flight to Houston, where he lives in the suburb of Humble.
Last year, his uncle Jonathan Calderon, 59, gave a speech at his home, saying his nephew “should have stayed” and that his actions went against everything his father Manuel, a former Marine, had taught him.
He said: ‘I think he panicked and went away thinking everything would be fine. If he doesn’t go back to England it will ruin his military career. There’s no honour in running.’
He added: ‘Isaac has always been an excellent kid and he joined the National Guard after high school. His parents raised him to be respectful.
“If he did something wrong, his father would make him do exercises like sit-ups and push-ups, military stuff. It’s not too late for him to say he panicked and go back to England.”
He thought his cousin was working as a translator in the UK.
Mrs Donowho, from Malvern, Worcestershire, was unable to walk for six weeks after the crash due to her injuries (pictured)
The victim suffered a broken sternum and two broken ankles (photo)
Calderon’s grandfather emigrated from Mexico and served in World War II and Korea. He was awarded the Purple Heart, one of the military’s highest honors.
The case has been compared to that of Anne Sacoolas, the wife of an American spy who killed 19-year-old motorcyclist Harry Dunn in a head-on collision in the UK in August 2019 before fleeing to America.
She eventually pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was given a suspended sentence, although she appeared in court remotely from the US.