U.S. denies Britain's extradition request for diplomat's wife -State Dept

WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The United States has declined Britain's request for the extradition of a U.S. diplomat's wife who was involved in a car crash that killed a British teenager, the State Department said on Thursday.

"At the time the accident occurred, and for the duration of her stay in the UK, the U.S. citizen driver in this case had immunity from criminal jurisdiction," a State Department representative said in a statement.

"If the United States were to grant the UK’s extradition request, it would render the invocation of diplomatic immunity a practical nullity and would set an extraordinarily troubling precedent," the statement said.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)