The Home Office has formally requested the extradition of US citizen Anne Sacoolas over the death of teenager Harry Dunn.
The 19-year-old was killed in August when his motorbike crashed into a car outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
Following the crash, 42-year-old Sacoolas – the wife of a US diplomat –left the UK and returned to the USA, claiming diplomatic immunity.
In a statement on Friday night, a Home Office spokesman said: “Following the Crown Prosecution Service’s charging decision, the Home Office has sent an extradition request to the United States for Anne Sacoolas on charges of causing death by dangerous driving.
“This is now a decision for the US authorities.”
It comes after the CPS charged Sacoolas in December.
A spokesman for Dunn’s family told BBC News the move was a “monumentally large step in the right direction”.
The teenager’s parents “feel that it is a huge step towards achieving justice for Harry and making good on the promise that they made to him on the night he died that they would secure justice for him,” Radd Seiger said.
“Despite the unwelcome public comments currently emanating from the US administration that Anne Sacoolas will never be returned, Harry’s parents, as victims, will simply look forward to the legal process unfolding, as it must now do, confident in the knowledge that the rule of law will be upheld.
“They will simply take things one step at a time and not get ahead of themselves. However, no one, whether diplomat or otherwise, is above the law.”