British Grandmother Fatally Struck by Alleged Drunk Driver in Turkey
The husband of a British grandmother who was killed by an alleged drunk driver has provided a harrowing account at an inquest, detailing how he tried "with all my strength" to prevent her from being run over a second time. Lisa Di Palma, a 61-year-old grandmother-of-four from Hornchurch in east London, was struck twice by the same driver while attempting to cross a dual carriageway in Fethiye, south-western Turkey, on August 6, 2025.
Horrific Incident Described in Emotional Testimony
Keith Di Palma, 57, told Walthamstow Coroner's Court that a speeding vehicle "came from nowhere" and struck his wife "full on" while narrowly missing him. The driver was reportedly four times over Turkey's legal drink drive limit and is facing a criminal trial in the country later this year. In an emotional statement read by coroner Nadia Persaud, Mr Di Palma described the traumatic events for the first time.
"I jumped out of the way, with the car brushing my back. But Lisa, who was slightly behind me, had no chance to get out of the way," he recounted. "The driver hit her full on and pushed her approximately five to six metres in front of the vehicle. Lisa was conscious, but had blood coming from her head and she was still on the floor."
Desperate Rescue Attempt and Medical Aftermath
Mr Di Palma described his frantic efforts to intervene as the situation escalated. "I tried to get the driver out of the car, but he refused, as I was pulled away by a bystander. I got to the front of the car and he started driving forward towards Lisa. With all my strength, I tried to stop him from driving further."
He and two Turkish bystanders eventually lifted the car off his wife while another man removed the driver from the vehicle. Despite being conscious and able to speak initially, Lisa sustained catastrophic injuries including pelvic and hip fractures, shoulder fractures, skull fractures, twelve broken ribs, internal bleeding in the lungs and brain, signs of kidney failure, and a burn on her leg from where the vehicle had driven over her.
Tragic Hospitalization and Final Goodbyes
After being rushed to A&E at the local state hospital, Lisa was transferred to Muğla University Hospital - a 74-mile, two-hour journey away. Following X-rays and CT scans, she was moved again to Letoon private hospital for surgery, just 10 minutes from the accident site. Doctors planned a second operation for August 13 after allowing her time to rest.
However, her condition deteriorated when Mr Di Palma and their eldest daughter Danielle, who had flown to Turkey, noticed she appeared bloated. Doctors attributed this to a bowel blockage being treated. The next morning, they received an urgent call that Mrs Di Palma's heart had stopped. Although revived after 10 minutes of CPR, she was placed in an induced coma.
At 5am the following morning - the scheduled day of her second operation - the family received another emergency call. Despite an hour of CPR attempts, it was too late, and Mrs Di Palma tragically passed away.
Aftermath and Criticism of Hospital Conduct
Following the hearing, Keith Di Palma revealed that his family had been hounded by Turkish press after a video of the crash went viral on social media. He also criticized the hospital's handling of the situation during their final moments with Lisa.
"It was discompassionate when she died. We weren't allowed to see her at first in the ward," he said. "Then we got asked if we wanted to say our goodbyes, in front of my two daughters - which was so distressing. They wheeled her out in a body bag, literally in front of her two children, unzipped it, let us see her. I gave her a little kiss, and to that day that was the last time I saw her."
When her body was returned to the UK, coroners advised the family not to view it as she "hadn't been looked after" properly, leaving them without a proper final farewell.
Investigation Findings and Legacy
The Turkish crash report revealed the driver had a blood alcohol level of 2.14 milligrams per millilitre - over four times Turkey's legal limit of 0.5. The report noted "no signs of braking or tyre marks" from the vehicle before or after impact. Lisa's official cause of death was recorded as multiple injuries due to a road traffic collision.
Driver Senay Koparal is facing criminal proceedings in Turkey later this year. Keith described how Lisa, who had recently lost over six stone in weight, was "the most confident she'd ever been" at the time of her death. A dedicated grassroots football advocate who ran the Tigers Junior Football Club in east London for over two decades, she was remembered as someone who "changed the face of grass-roots football with her kind attitude."
A GoFundMe fundraiser has raised over £23,000 for the family, who have established the Lisa Di Palma Foundation to help underprivileged children access sports. "Lisa was always about giving and not taking," Keith said. "She'd make sure the football club was the cheapest so anyone could attend. If anyone was struggling, she'd either pay herself or bend over backwards so that child could get involved."
