Hit-and-run driver is jailed after running over man who turned out to be her own father-in-law

A hit-and-run driver crashed into, and seriously injured, an elderly man on a zebra crossing - only to learn later it was her father-in-law she had left lying in agony.

Fatheha Begum Abedin was distracted because she was using her phone when she ploughed into her 61-year-old relative in the Highfields area of Leicester in February 2018.But instead of stopping to help him, she kept on driving.

Abedin was jailed for six months for the dangerous driving offence and 12 months for perverting the course of justice. Credit: BPM

The incident led to a high-profile police appeal to find the driver responsible.

The 29-year-old initially insisted she was not aware of the collision, which happened in St Peter’s Road. Next she said she might have been involved but had suffered a partial loss of consciousness caused by an asthma attack, meaning she had no memory of the incident.

The collision, which was caught on CCTV, threw her father-in-law on to the bonnet of her Vauxhall Corsa and into her windscreen. Credit: BPM

The collision, which was caught on CCTV, threw her father-in-law on to the bonnet of her Vauxhall Corsa and into her windscreen. The force of the impact bent the wipers and shattered the windscreen. Abedin later claimed the damage had been caused by thieves breaking into the car to steal her phone. She also tried to hide her use of the phone at the time of the crash by saying it often delayed sending messages - a contention which was refuted by an expert.

The pharmacy assistant eventually ran out of lies and pleaded guilty to two offences - causing serious injury by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice.Her family was initially unaware of what she had done but eventually learned of her involvement as the police investigation continued and LeicestershireLive ran a number of appeals for witnesses.The judge who sentenced her said a man whose car matched the one involved in the collision was arrested and spent an evening in police custody before he was ruled out of the police investigation.

Abedin was jailed for six months for the dangerous driving offence and 12 months for perverting the course of justice. The sentences will be served consecutively, making a total of 18 months. She was also banned from driving for two years and nine months.