Doctor killed on zebra crossing by careless driver saves five lives with her organs

A junior doctor who was killed on a zebra crossing by a driver blinded by a frosty windscreen has saved five lives through organ donation since her untimely death, her family said today.

Dr Jasjot Singhota, 30, was run over on her way to work by student Alexander Fitzgerald who had not bothered to fully defrost his windscreen before setting off in a Ford Fiesta.

She suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash in Tulse Hill, in January 2017, and was rushed to hospital for eight hours of emergency surgery, but died the following day.

Dr Singhota, an anaesthetist at St Thomas’ Hospital in Lambeth, had worked on conservation projects in Madagascar and in children’s hospitals in New Zealand, and dreamed of one day working for Medicins Sans Frontières to help people caught up in the world’s most dangerous war zones.

Her family said today that she has saved “five precious lives” through organ donation since her tragic death, but they have been robbed of the chance to see her get married and have children of her own.

Her older sister, Neha Santasalo, 34, told the Evening Standard the family are now campaigning for drivers to “take a minute” to check that their car is safe to be on the road.

“It’s not a big ask to clear the windscreen,” she said. “It’s something that should be done without thinking like wearing a seat belt.

“It takes just a minute to do it properly and it’s horrible that something so insignificant has completely reshaped our lives. My sister’s death could have been prevented. No one should lose a loved one through someone else’s carelessness. It adds insult to injury.

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“If the journey our family has been on can be prevented for someone else then it will be worth it. The weather is going to get colder so it’s important to get the message heard now.”

Kingston crown court heard Fitzgerald, 25, was leaving his girlfriend’s house to go to work in his father’s car, but did not clear the passenger side of the windscreen of frost.

Less than a minute later he struck Dr Singhota as she looked through her handbag on a zebra crossing in Thurlow Park Road, Tulse Hill.

Fitzgerald, from Brentwood, Essex, who was not insured on the car, had not seen Dr Singhota and was still driving at almost 30mph when he hit her.

He admitted causing death by careless driving and causing death by driving while uninsured and was sentenced on Friday to 10 months in prison. He was also given a 23-month driving ban and must take a test to regain his licence.