The father of an American driver who fled the UK after a crash left a British nurse unable to walk has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for his son’s legal costs.
Issac Calderon, 22, has been charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving after a collision on the A4103 near Shucknall in Herefordshire on 31 July left Elizabeth Donowho with two broken ankles, a fractured sternum and a broken bone in her hand.
The 56-year-old was unable to walk for six weeks following the collision.
A warrant was issued for Calderon’s arrest after he failed to turn up to a hearing at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on 1 December.
He is now back living with his parents in his hometown of Humble, in Texas, where Sky News tracked him down earlier this month.
Following the crash, Ms Donowho told Sky News that UK police told her Calderon was connected to the US intelligence services, and that he had been visiting a British special forces base in Hereford.
In court, Calderon’s occupation was given as “American soldier”, according to the Hereford Times.
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.
In the written message on the fundraising page, Manuel Calderon says his son had been working as a contractor in the UK “due to his security clearance with the Texas National Guard”.
It says he returned home with a ticket bought by the company.
His father says his son also sustained injuries in the crash, and “still has problems from his concussion and his fractured humorous”.
However, it says he is unable to access medical treatment until January due to his insurance.
The post concludes: “We do not have funds for hiring international legal counsel, we are a single income family and not a family of means.
“We have spoken with an attorney, although his price is reasonable we do not have the funds or know of someone who would give or lend us that amount of money.”
The family have so far raised around a third of their $15,000 (£12,000) target.