A driver who fled after hitting a family of five Israelis, killing a pregnant Cambridge scientist and her professor father, has been jailed for 16 years.

Yoram Hirshfeld, 81, and pregnant Noga Sella, 37, were among five people hit in Ramsgate, Kent, in August when a driver under the influence of cocaine lost control of his black Alfa Romeo and mounted a pavement.

Nitesh Bissendary, 30, from Manston, was found guilty of causing two deaths by dangerous driving in Canterbury Crown Court.

The crash, which occurred as the family was walking back to their hotel, also caused serious injuries to Mrs Sella’s husband, 40, and their eight-year-old son and six-year-old daughter.

Mrs Sella, who was five months pregnant with her third child and who worked as a physicist at Cambridge University, was pronounced dead at the scene, while her father, Yoram Hirshfeld, 81, maths lecturer at Tel Aviv University, died shortly after.

Mrs Sella’s husband, Omer, suffered a lacerated spleen and their daughter survived a life-threatening head injury. Their son suffered from shock and minor injuries.

Mr Bissendary fled the scene as his victims lay dying, but returned to his vehicle to get his cocaine from the wrecked car while Mrs Sella was trapped underneath and emergency workers treated the injured, Canterbury Court heard.

Mr Bissendary denied causing their deaths by dangerous driving but was found guilty and jailed for 16 years. He was also found guilty of two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He claimed he had a momentary lapse in concentration in order to resolve a clutch issue, but his judgement had been impaired due to his use of cocaine, and the crash was “entirely avoidable”, the court heard.

Mr Bissendary insisted he ran from the scene “in a panic” after not realising he struck anyone. He also claimed he refused to give blood as part of a roadside drug test because he suffered from a phobia of needles.

In a victim impact statement, Mrs Sella’s husband said: “Noga was the glue of our family, she was an amazing parent who attended to all of our children’s needs with ease. The feeling that I should have done more will never leave me.”

Noga Sella

Noga Hirschfeld was a Cambridge Physicist originally from Israel (Credit: Facebook)

Detective Inspector Lynn Wilczek of Kent Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “There are few things in life as painful as the loss of a loved one, especially when such a loss comes without warning and as a the result of someone else’s irresponsible behaviour. To lose two people at the same time is unimaginable.

“From the moment he took cocaine before getting behind the wheel of his car, the actions of Nitesh Bissendary have been nothing short of disgraceful.”