Texas Guardsman who fled England after major crash sentenced to prison in UK
A British court on Nov. 7, 2024, sentenced Spc. Isac Alejandro Calderon, a Texas Army National Guard soldier, to over two years in prison for causing serious injury by dangerous driving. (Stars and Stripes)
MILDENHALL, England — A Texas Army National Guardsman who severely injured a nurse last year in a head-on collision in England was sentenced Thursday by a British court to two years and eight months in prison.
Spc. Isac Alejandro Calderon’s appearance in Worcester Crown Court brought an end to a case that included his extradition from the United States.
Calderon, 23, “tried to escape justice for his action behind the wheel by fleeing the country,” Jennifer Winzor of the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement Thursday. “Those who commit offenses in the U.K. cannot simply expect to walk away without accountability.”
In October, Calderon pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving[1], a charge that stemmed from the crash near Shucknall on July 31, 2023.
At his sentencing hearing, Judge Martin Jackson described Calderon’s actions as appalling[2] and said his roadway behavior “was the sort of driving one expects from arrogant, young boy racers,” the BBC reported.
Calderon’s first name has been spelled Issac and Isaac in court statements and media reports. A Sky News report in July[3] displayed a picture of his military-issued common access card, which says Isac.
Efforts to reach the Texas National Guard to ask what unit Calderon was assigned to at the time were not successful.
The collision occurred on the A4103 in a rural area less than 30 miles from the Welsh border. Elizabeth Donowho, a British nurse whose car was struck by Calderon, sustained broken bones and was temporarily unable to walk as a result.
Calderon also was injured in the crash and had to be treated in a hospital, West Mercia police said in an October statement to Stars and Stripes.
After that, he showed up for interviews with authorities, so he was not arrested and was allowed to keep his passport, according to the statement.
Calderon said during a police interview that he didn’t plan to return to the U.S. until March 2024. But on Nov. 25, 2023, he left the country just before a scheduled court date, the BBC reported, citing court documents from the extradition hearing.
An arrest warrant was issued in December 2023. Calderon said he went back to Texas because he didn’t have enough money to remain in England, according to the court filings.
Witnesses saw him passing vehicles at high speeds before the crash, the BBC and Sky News reported, citing court documents. Sky News added that he told authorities that he had been vaping in the car and that his driving was “definitely not safe.”
Calderon also said he was “not at all” familiar with British road markings and did not know that solid white lines designate a no-passing zone, Sky News said, citing court documents.
In August, U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray ordered Calderon’s extradition, concluding that there was “virtually no possibility that Calderon will appear in court in the U.K. of his own (volition),” the BBC reported.
It’s unclear what Calderon was doing in England at the time. Police told Donowho that he’d been visiting the British special operations base in nearby Herefordshire, according to Sky News.
But that report also said Calderon told authorities he was traveling for “personal activities” when the crash happened.
References
- ^ pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving (www.stripes.com)
- ^ Judge Martin Jackson described Calderon’s actions as appalling (www.bbc.com)
- ^ A Sky News report in July (news.sky.com)