US ‘spy’, 23, confessed to cops that his driving was ‘definitely not safe’ before fleeing Britain after he left nurse unable to work when he crashed into her ‘head on’ at ‘high …
A 23-year-old American citizen who claimed to be a spy told police his driving was ‘definitely not safe’ after he allegedly crashed into a nurse’s car in England leaving her with severe injuries, according to court documents.
Isaac Calderon is accused of seriously injuring Elizabeth Donowho after allegedly striking her car head-on on the A4103 near Shucknall, Herefordshire on July 31 last year after overtaking several cars whilst at the wheel of a Honda Accord.
Ms Donowho was left unable to walk for six weeks after the crash and has been told that she will never fully recover from her injuries; she has also been unable to return to work.
After being arrested and ordered to appear in court on a charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving on December 1 last year, Calderon was able to flee Britain days before his trial despite being deemed a ‘flight risk’.
He was arrested in Texas[3] and appeared in court on Monday. He remains in custody in the US.
A newly unsealed complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, seeking his arrest and extradition to the UK, have revealed new details of the American’s interview with West Mercia Police following the incident.
American citizen Isaac Calderon has been arrested and is facing an extradition hearing that could see him returned to the UK to face dangerous driving charges
Nurse Elizabeth Donowho, who suffered serious injuries after her car was allegedly struck head-on by a vehicle driven by Calderon
Ms Donowho was unable to walk for six weeks after the crash. She shattered her sternum and both ankles (pictured right: screws in one of her ankles)
The documents, obtained by MailOnline describe the American appearing to admit to West Mercia Police that his driving was ‘definitely not safe’ – swearing as he is shown dashcam footage that ‘clearly captures’ the collision.
Calderon is said to have admitted to police that he had only bought the saloon car six days before the crash and that he had no previous experience of driving a car with a manual gearbox.
And while he said he had been driving on UK roads in rental cars for three months before the crash, he allegedly admitted he was ‘not at all’ familiar with road markings and traffic directions in the UK, saying: ‘I get mixed up on the signs all the time.’
Calderon is alleged to have told officers the car did not have insurance, and that he had been vaping behind the wheel at the time of the crash.
And asked if the car had an MOT, Calderon – who suffered a concussion and a broken arm in the incident – said in his interview: ‘I don’t know what that is, so probably not.’
Eyewitness statements obtained by police claim Calderon was travelling in excess of the A4103’s 50mph speed limit, and crossed over solid white lines – which indicate a ‘no overtaking’ zone – as he attempted to pass other cars.
As he was shown footage of the crash, Calderon is said to have repeatedly exclaimed ‘S***’.
Asked if his driving was dangerous, he said he had ‘no other way to describe it’.
Calderon is said to have told a police constable interviewing him he would remain in the UK until March 2024, but left the UK on a plane on November 25 2023.
In a witness statement supplied to support the extradition bid West Mercia Police officer PC Richard Watkins, who interviewed Calderon, said: ‘He remembered the crash and accepted that his driving was definitely not safe.’
Ms Donowho, from Malvern, Worcestershire, suffered multiple fractures in the crash – including both ankles, her sternum and her right hand.
Police previously told the mental health nurse that Calderon had been carrying out work ‘associated with the secret service’ and was working on matters ‘that might come under the Official Secrets Act’.
Court documents state that he is a member of the armed forces in an unspecified capacity, and was carrying a Uniformed Services Army Card in his name. He had been living with family in Humble, Texas when he left the UK last year.
His father, Manuel Calderon, told Sky News last year Isaac was part of the American National Guard and served ‘a few weeks a year’.
And in December, Calderon’s own uncle Jonathan told the Daily Mail he should return to face justice.
He said Calderon may have ‘freaked out’ but urged him to fly back to Britain because there is ‘no honour in running’.
The A4103 at Shucknall, Herefordshire, where nurse Elizabeth Donowho suffered serious injuries in a car crash allegedly caused by Isaac Calderon
Ms Donowho has been unable to return to her job as a nurse and will never fully recover from her injuries
West Mercia Police was told by Calderon in a police interview that he intended to stay in the UK until March 2024. He fled the country in December last year
Elizabeth Donowho walks at the side of the road close to where the crash that injured her took place in July last year
In a short statement released after being informed of Calderon’s arrest, the spokesman for Ms Donowho, Radd Seiger, told the PA news agency: ‘It is almost a year since Elizabeth suffered the crash which very nearly took her life.
‘We do not know why the extradition process has taken so long but we are delighted to see that it is now under way and we look forward to Mr Calderon being returned to the UK shortly so that he can face our justice system.
‘He is of course innocent of the charges he faces until proven otherwise.’
He told the BBC this week: ‘Much will depend on what Mr Calderon decides to do.
‘If he doesn’t defend the (extradition) request, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be put on a plane immediately.’
It has been reported that there are no issues surrounding diplomatic immunity in Calderon’s case.
He faces up to five years in prison if he is extradited to the UK and convicted of the alleged offence.
The case has been compared to that of Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US spy who killed motorcyclist Harry Dunn, 19, in a head on crash in the UK in August 2019 before fleeing to America.
She eventually admitted death by dangerous driving and was handed a suspended sentence – but appeared in court remotely from the US.
Mr Seiger, who represents Ms Donowho, also represented Harry Dunn’s family during the Sacoolas case.