Hit-and-run driver jailed for killing Southampton patient

A "drunken" hit-and-run driver, who killed a hospital patient as she lay in a road at night, has been jailed for 12 months.

Allison Steege, 35, was struck by a van after lying down outside Southampton General Hospital in April 2015.

Ms Steege, who had mental health issues, died later from her injuries.

Daniel Rogan, 24, of Sandpiper Road, who had spent the afternoon in a pub with friends, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.

The judge told Southampton Crown Court he had "no doubt" Mr Rogan was drunk at the time of the accident.

The court heard Ms Steege had been taken to hospital for self-harm injuries and had told an ambulance crew she was "hearing voices."

While receiving treatment Ms Steege went outside for a cigarette and then ran to lay down in Tremona Road.

One witness told the court that she drove past Ms Steege in the road and flashed her headlights to alert other drivers, but Mr Rogan did not stop.

Two days later, the father-of-two handed himself in to the police after his van had been identified and was in the process of being recovered.

Rogan was found not guilty by a jury of causing death by dangerous driving but itted that his careless driving caused Ms Steege's death.

He was disqualified for two and a half years.

The judge, Recorder William Mousley QC, said: "No sentence that I can in any way reflects the loss that Ms Steege's family have had to go through and will continue to experience from the loss of her life."