Sky News has tracked down the American driver who fled the UK after a “devastating” crash that left a British nurse unable to walk.
Issac Calderon, 22, who is wanted by West Mercia Police, is now back living with his parents in his hometown in Texas.
The nurse, Elizabeth Donowho, who broke both ankles in the crash, told Sky News she was pleased Calderon had been located but felt sickened by the situation.
Ms Donowho revealed on Monday that she’d been told by UK police officers that Calderon was connected to the US intelligence services.
Image: Nurse Elizabeth Donowho close to the site of her car crash in Shucknall Hill
A Sky News team has now spoken to Calderon’s father, Manuel, at the family’s detached house in a residential street in Humble, Texas.
He confirmed his son is now back at home and claimed the situation has been “blown out of proportion”.
His son had been described as a “fugitive” with the case likened to that of Anne Sacoolas, the US spy who left the UK after killing teenager Harry Dunn in a crash in Northamptonshire in 2019.
Mr Calderon insisted his son had been in the UK on a work visa and had recently been employed in a warehouse but he couldn’t recall the name of the company.
He said he’d paid for his son to fly home in November because he was “struggling to support himself” and to enable him to seek further medical treatment following the collision.
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It was just days before a court hearing in Kidderminster where he had been expected to appear having been charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
A warrant for his arrest was then issued.
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2:23
UK could extradite American driver
West Mercia Police said they’d been working to reach him “both directly and through formal channels” and they were preparing paperwork should they need to request the extradition of the American.
Both the US and the UK authorities have refused to disclose what Calderon was doing in the UK.
Ms Donowho said she was also told by police that he was visiting the SAS base in Herefordshire which is nine miles from the crash site.
Manuel Calderon told Sky News his son is part of the American National Guard and said he serves “a few weeks a year”.
Guard soldiers typically hold civilian jobs while maintaining their military training part time.
The US Embassy in London had previously told Sky News that Calderon was a “US citizen”.
Image: Ms Donowho and Harry Dunn’s mother, Charlotte Charles
Manuel Calderon said they had not heard from either the US or the UK authorities recently, and his son would not be able to discuss the case further because he was now seeking legal advice.
Ms Donowho said: “I feel sick. I’m obviously pleased that Mr Calderon has been found. However I am confused as to why I am learning this news from the media rather than the authorities.
“All I want is for him to face our justice system as soon as possible and an explanation as to how he was able to leave in the first place.”
Ms Donowho’s spokesperson, Radd Seiger, who helped the family of Harry Dunn in the wake of the Sacoolas case said: “I’m grateful to Sky News.
“It is a massive step forward that the defendant has now been located which is a relief to us all. He must now either come back voluntarily or be brought back to the UK without delay.
“Elizabeth has suffered enough and I would appeal to Mr Calderon and both the UK and US authorities to put Elizabeth’s interests as a victim of a near fatal crash first here and now get on and do the right thing.
“Mr Calderon is innocent until proven otherwise but is a fugitive on the run. He should not have fled and it is in his interests more than anyone else’s to come back to face the charges against him.
“We have one of the fairest legal systems in the world and he is entitled to and will get a fair trial when he is back.”
Prince Harry has denied having a fight with Prince Andrew after it was claimed “punches were thrown” between the pair in 2013.
The allegations appeared in excerpts from a new book on the Duke of York being serialised in the Daily Mail.
It claims a row started after Prince Andrew said something behind Harry’s back, with Andrew “left with a bloody nose” and the pair needing to be broken up.
It also claimed the Duke of York once warned his nephew about marrying Meghan and suggested it wouldn’t last long.
However, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex strongly denied the claims.
“I can confirm Prince Harryand Prince Andrew have never had a physical fight, nor did Prince Andrew ever make the comments he is alleged to have made about the Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry,” a statement said.
They said a legal letter had been sent to the Daily Mail due to “gross inaccuracies, damaging and defamatory remarks” in its reporting.
The book – Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York – is billed as the first joint biography of Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
It’s said to be based on interviews with “over a hundred people who have never spoken before”.
He said his brother once knocked him to the floor amid a confrontation over Meghan’s “rude” and “abrasive” behaviour.
“It all happened so fast. So very fast,” Harry wrote in the book.
“He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me.”
“I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out,” the prince added.
Harry claimed his brother wanted him to hit him back “but I chose not to”, and that William later returned and apologised.
The Duke Of Sussex has described his relationship with his family as extremely strained after he quit as a working royal and took legal action against the media, and over the removal of his UK police protection.
He claimed earlier this year the King wouldn’t speak to him and there had “been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family”.
Martin Lewis says motorists who were mis-sold car finance are likely to receive “hundreds, not thousands of pounds” – with regulators launching a consultation on a new compensation scheme.
The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com believes it is “very likely” that about 40% of Britons who entered personal contact purchase or hire purchase agreements between 2007 and 2021 will be eligible for payouts.
“Discretionary commission arrangements” saw brokers and dealers charge higher levels of interest so they could receive more commission, without telling consumers.
Image: Pics: PA
Speaking to Sky News Radio’s Faye Rowlands, Lewis said: “Very rarely will it be thousands of pounds unless you have more than one car finance deal.
“So up to about a maximum of £950 per car finance deal where you are due compensation.”
Lewis explained that consumers who believe they may have been affected should check whether they had a discretionary commission arrangement by writing to their car finance company.
However, the personal finance guru warned against using a claims firm.
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“They’re hardly going to do anything for you and you might get the money paid to you automatically anyway, in which case you’re giving them 30% for nothing,” he added.
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Who’s eligible for payout after car finance scandal?
Yesterday, the Financial Conduct Authority said its review of the past use of motor finance “has shown that many firms were not complying with the law or our disclosure rules that were in force when they sold loans to consumers”.
The FCA’s statement added that those affected “should be appropriately compensated in an orderly, consistent and efficient way”.
Lewis told Sky News that the consultation will launch in October – and will take six weeks.
“We expect payouts to come in 2026, assuming this will happen and it’s very likely to happen,” he said.
“As for exactly how will work, it hasn’t decided yet. Firms will have to contact people, although there is an issue about them having destroyed some of the data for older claims.”
He believes claims will either be paid automatically – or affected consumers will need to opt in and apply to get compensation back.
The FCA says you may be affected if you bought a car under a finance scheme, including hire purchase agreements, before 28 January 2021.
Anyone who has already complained does not need to do anything.
The authority added: “Consumers concerned that they were not told about commission, and who think they may have paid too much for the finance, should complain now”.
Its website advises drivers to complain to their finance provider first.
If you’re unhappy with the response, you can then contact the Financial Ombudsman.
Any compensation scheme will be easy to participate in, without drivers needing to use a claims management company or law firm.
The FCA has warned motorists that doing so could end up costing you 30% of any compensation in fees.
The FCA estimates the cost of any scheme – including compensation and administrative costs – to be no lower than £9bn.
But in a video on X, Lewis said that millions of people are likely to be due a share of up to £18bn.
The regulator’s announcement comes after the Supreme Court ruled on a separate, but similar, case on Friday.