Police force says it provided 'acceptable' service despite US driver leaving UK after crash which injured nurse
A nurse who was left unable to walk for six weeks after a car crash has been told police provided an "acceptable" service despite the US suspect leaving the country before facing court.
Issac Calderon is accused of causing 56-year-old Elizabeth Donowho serious injury by dangerous driving following a collision in July last year.
Ms Donowho submitted a complaint to West Mercia Police after she discovered Calderon left the UK on a commercial flight to Texas on 25 November despite being labelled a potential "flight risk".
The suspect's father previously said the FBI had been in contact about "extraditing him", but Ms Donowho said she no longer believes he will return to the UK.
West Mercia Police said the suspect was not arrested immediately after the incident on the A4103 near Shucknall in Herefordshire due to requiring medical attention for serious injuries.
Ms Donowho was left with multiple fractures, including both ankles, her sternum and her right hand.
As a result of not being arrested, Calderon had no bail conditions imposed, meaning there was, according to police, "no power to stop him leaving the country, even if he was identified at a port".
The force told Ms Donowho it had requested the suspect be put on the National Border Targeting Centre's watchlist, but he "did not meet the criteria for a marker to be added, as it is only to be used if the individual is deemed to be travelling in furtherance of criminality".
Police also said Calderon had lost his job "due to the upcoming court case", which led them to identify him as a flight risk as his work visa was subsequently coming to an end.
'No indication' accused would fail to attend court
In a letter responding to Ms Donowho's complaint, seen by the Press Association, a representative of the force's professional standards department said there was "no indication" he would fail to attend Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on 1 December last year.
The letter concluded by saying: "Based on the conclusions of this complaint case, the outcome is that the service provided by the police was acceptable, and in this case, there was no learning identified."
Calderon is now back living with his parents in his hometown of Humble, Texas, where Sky News tracked him down later in December.
Following the crash, Ms Donowho told Sky News UK police told her Calderon was connected to the US intelligence services, and he had been visiting a British special forces base in Hereford.
Response 'adds insult to injury'
Ms Donowho, from Malvern, Worcestershire, said the police response "just adds insult to injury".
She told the PA news agency: "They have let me down over and over again and it just continues.
"Calderon should have surrendered his passport and they only have themselves to blame for their mistake.
"They are more concerned with their reputation than my interests as a victim.
"It is now over four months since Calderon left. The authorities refuse to update me on the extradition and I no longer believe he is going to come back."
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The case has been 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.
