Driver jailed for seven years for killing 'selfless' ex-nurse in Essex hit-and-run

A woman who caused the death of a 'selfless' and 'very special' nurse has been jailed for seven years.

Hivda Altuntop, 21, was driving a silver Vauxhall Astra when she hit pedestrian Penelope Coggan on Harwich Road, Great Oakley in Essex last April.

The 73-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

Altuntop, of Harwich, failed to stop and was only caught when she crashed her car further up the road.

When she was arrested, officers found she had cannabis and a small kitchen knife on her.

Police also found Altuntop did not own the car she was driving and had driven it without the owner’s consent.

She was charged and convicted of nine offences, including causing death by dangerous driving and assaulting an emergency worker, following a trial at Chelmsford Crown court last November.

On Friday 20 January, Altuntop, was jailed for seven years and banned from driving for six years and 10 months.

Sergeant Alex Black and DC Edward Gosling said: “Penelope Coggan had only recently moved back to the area with her husband to be closer to her family.

“She should be enjoying life, making most of the fact she lived in the same road as her two sons.

“But, sadly, all that has been taken away by one person’s reckless actions.

“Hivda Altuntop drove dangerously, having no regard for the safety of others, her behaviour and poor decisions led to a fatal collision which resulted in the tragic loss of life.

“She will now spend the foreseeable future behind bars as a result.”

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