A heartbroken husband has described in court the moment his wife was allegedly struck by a drunk driver and “thrown almost five metres” during what was meant to be an anniversary holiday in Turkey.
Lisa Di Palma, 61, was hit twice by the same vehicle as she attempted to cross a dual carriageway on the way to dinner in Fethiye, south-west Turkey, on August 6 last year.
Her husband, Keith Di Palma, broke down in tears this week as he gave evidence before a panel of four Turkish judges at a court in Fethiye, recounting the devastating events of the evening the couple had planned to celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary.
Turkish farmer Senay Koparal, 55, has denied charges of “intentional killing,” an offence that can carry a life sentence, and “intentional killing to avoid capture.”
As reported by The Sun, Mr Di Palma, 57, told the court: “I was married to my wife for 36 years, we were truly in love and he took it away from me.”
He said the speeding vehicle appeared suddenly and struck his wife directly, while narrowly avoiding him.
Mrs Di Palma was hurled into the road “almost five metres,” her husband said, before he realised in horror that the car had not fully stopped after the impact.
Giving evidence at the 2nd High Criminal Court in the Fethiye Palace of Justice, Mr Di Palma said: “I jumped in front of the car to try to stop him and also punched the windscreen.”
‘There was no way he was going to stop so I put my hand under the underside of the car to try to stop it.’
Mrs Di Palma – a mother of two and grandmother of four from Hornchurch, east London – was rushed to hospital but tragically died a week later.
Keith Di Palma, with his wife Lisa, told a Turkish court this week how she was ‘thrown almost five metres’ after she was hit by a car as they tried to cross a road in Fethiye last August
Lisa Di Palma (pictured), from Hornchurch in east London, died a week after she was knocked down on a pedestrian crossing by an alleged drunk driver
Keith Di Palma told the court he and wife Lisa ‘were truly in love and he took it away from me’
Koparal, appearing via video link from prison where he has been held since last August, admitted to the court he had been drinking prior to getting behind the wheel.
According to a police report, his blood alcohol level was 2.14 milligrams per ml – with the Turkish limit set at 0.5 milligrams – meaning he was four times over the legal limit.
His lawyer Selcuk Ayaz said Koparal could not have ‘intended’ to kill Mrs Di Palma given how intoxicated he was.
However, prosecutor Onur Kamali said there was an absence of tyre marks on the road, which showed he had not made sufficient efforts to slow down or stop his vehicle.
Koparal also faces a third charge of fraudulently using someone else’s identity, after he presented his brother’s driving licence to police at the crash scene.
He will remain in prison until the next hearing on August 11.
At a previous inquest in March, Mr Di Palma outlined his version of events at Walthamstow Coroner’s Court.
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In an emotional statement read out by coroner Nadia Persaud, Mr Di Palma said: ‘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.
‘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.
‘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.’
A photograph from the scene shows three police officers taking the driver, who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol, into custody
Mr Di Palma said he and two Turkish bystanders had to lift the car off his wife while another man pulled the driver out.
Still alive and able to talk, Lisa was rushed to A&E at the local state hospital before being taken to the Muğla University Hospital – a 74-mile, two-hour drive away.
Lisa had been left with pelvic and hip fractures, shoulder fractures, skull fractures, twelve broken ribs, a slight bleed in the lungs, a slight bleed on the brain, signs of kidney failure and a burn on her leg from where the driver’s vehicle had been driven over her, doctors said.
After an X-ray and CT scan, she was transferred to Letoon private hospital for an operation – just 10 minutes from the accident site.
Doctors planned to operate again on August 13 after she had time to rest.
But Mr Di Palma and their eldest daughter Danielle who had flown out to Turkey to visit her mother noticed she looked bloated.
Doctors said that this was due to a bowel blockage which was being treated.
The next morning they were called and told to rush to the hospital as Mrs Di Palma’s heart had stopped. Doctors had revived her after 10 minutes of CPR but had to put her into an induced coma.
At 5am the next morning, on what should have been the day of the second operation, the family received another call to tell them they need to hurry to the hospital once again.
However, despite an hour of CPR, it was too late and Mrs Di Palma died.
Following the hearing, Keith said Lisa, who worked in grassroots football, had recently lost more than 6st in weight and was the ‘most confident’ she’d ever been.
He said: ‘She was the football community in one.
‘From us having our children, she gave up work when my youngest daughter had her first child, she gave up work so my daughter could go back to work.
‘She gave her life and soul to looking after her grandchildren and continuing with grass-roots football, getting more involved.
‘Everybody said she changed the face of grass-roots football with her kind attitude.’
He added: ‘Lisa was always about giving and not taking, 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.’
