Nurse jailed for careless driving over parking row death
A nurse has been jailed for causing the death of a mother of two who was flung from a car bonnet following a row over parking.
Christine McHugh, 33, climbed on the bonnet of a car being driven by Ophelia Okai-Koi, 52, outside a pub in Barnet, north London, in March 2013.
Mrs McHugh was carried along before she fell off and hit a zebra crossing light. She died from head injuries.
Okai-Koi, from Barnet, was jailed for 12 months at Harrow Crown Court.
She was also suspended from driving for two years after she was found guilty of causing death by careless driving.
The police said Mrs McHugh became involved in a row with Okai-Koi after a dispute over where the defendant had parked her car.
As Okai-Koi drove off, Mrs McHugh leant against the bonnet of the car before resting her head and hands on the windscreen, the court heard.
The nurse continued to drive off out of the car park at a speed of 10-15mph. Mrs McHugh was thrown off the bonnet, and hit her head on a Belisha beacon.
Okai-Koi then left the scene.
An off-duty special police constable who was waiting at a nearby bus stop gave first aid to Mrs McHugh, as did paramedics who arrived soon after, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination later gave the cause of death as a severe head injury.
Det Con Sam Vennart said: "It is utterly tragic that a row about parking led to the loss of a woman's life.
"The family of Christie McHugh have been shattered by this incident."