Drunk driver who ran over British mother twice during wedding anniversary holiday in Türkiye finally sentenced — Devastated husband shares final words to his wife
A Turkish court has sentenced a drunk driver to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing a British mother during what should have been a joyful wedding anniversary celebration.
Lisa Di Palma, 61, from Hornchurch in east London, was on holiday in the popular resort of Fethiye, southwestern Turkey, with her husband Keith when tragedy struck on the evening of 6 August 2025. The couple, married for 36 years, were walking across a pedestrian crossing on their way to dinner along the turquoise coastline shortly after 7.30pm.
Senay Koparal, a 54-year-old local farmer, struck Lisa while driving with a blood alcohol level of 2.14 milligrams per millilitre — more than four times Turkey’s legal limit of 0.5. Witnesses described how he then tried to flee the scene, running over her a second time as her husband desperately tried to push the vehicle off her body with his bare hands.
Lisa suffered catastrophic injuries, including bleeding in the lungs and brain, fractures to her pelvis, shoulders and skull, twelve broken ribs, signs of kidney failure and a burn on her leg from the car. She remained conscious and able to speak in the immediate aftermath and was rushed to hospital. Despite emergency treatment and later surgery, she died on 13 August 2025 from multiple injuries caused by the collision. The date falls almost exactly one year before the sentencing.
In court this week, Keith Di Palma, 57, a lorry driver, broke down as the life sentence was delivered. “Nothing can bring back the woman I loved more than life itself,” he said. Speaking with their two daughters, Charlotte, 32, and Danielle, 35, the family expressed relief that justice had been served but emphasised the permanent void left behind.
“I am grateful that the truth was heard and that Lisa’s life was valued,” Keith said. “But no verdict, no sentence will ever fill the empty space that Lisa has left behind. Koparal may have been handed a sentence today — but the true punishment falls on us, the family he destroyed. We are the ones who have to live every day without her.”
He described the driver’s actions as deliberate, cruel and unforgivable. “He was drunk, driving at speed, and when he struck Lisa he did not stop. He drove over her, reversed, and drove over her again — all to try and escape. I saw her body go under the car. That was not a mistake. That was murder.”
Koparal showed no emotion as the sentence was passed. Court records and earlier reports revealed he had previously been convicted of fatally shooting a 62-year-old farmer in 2008. He later escaped prison in 2017 and remained at large for 16 months before recapture. Questions remain about the circumstances of his eventual release prior to the 2025 incident.
Lisa was remembered as a devoted grandmother of four and a dedicated community figure who served as secretary of a junior football club. Her husband paid a final tribute: “My darling wife, my love, my life. I will love you until my last breath. You are and always will be my heart, my soul, and my world. Rest peacefully, my angel. We will never forget you.”
The case has highlighted the devastating human cost of drink-driving and the long shadow cast by previous serious offending. For the Di Palma family, the life sentence closes a chapter of legal proceedings but cannot restore the life that was taken on a night meant for celebration.
