A HAMPSHIRE woman killed in a hit-and-run crash by a motorist who had been in the pub had threatened to take her own life that night, an inquest heard.

Allison Steege from Southampton was hit by a Mercedes van outside Southampton General Hospital as she lay in the road.

Shortly before the incident she had been a patient in the accident and emergency department but had left to have a cigarette.

The 35-year-old was hit while she lay in Tremona Road and died of her injuries in the hospital.

Ms Steege, of Walton Road, had a history of alcohol dependency and suicide attempts, and had been diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder.

Winchester Coroner’s Court heard that Ms Steege had told the emergency services she was hearing voices telling her to kill herself.

She was taken by nurses to the minor injuries ward as the mental health room was occupied.

Paramedic Duncan Wilde said: “I voiced my concerns that Allison should not be left unattended to nursing staff.”

When asked by coroner Grahame Short what the reaction of the nurses was to his concern, he replied: “They seemed preoccupied. It is very busy at Southampton General Hospital.

“I would say that they do a very hard job under difficult circumstances.”

Jade Haythorne, a nurse at Southampton General, said Ms Steege was “calm and cooperative” when admitted, and that no order had been placed on her to stop her leaving.

She said she was not told Ms Steege had plans to take her life when she was in hospital.

The inquest heard that Ms Steege’s care plan stated she was to be allowed to leave as she had been violent towards staff on previous hospital visits.

Consultant nurse Sarah Charters said the care plan had been reviewed in November 2014 and was still current.

She added they were planning three high-risk mental health rooms for the department and that there was now a contained courtyard where patients could smoke.

“It is unbelievable the extent of the increase of people coming to our department with mental health needs, and that’s nationally not just Southampton,” she said.

As previously reported in the Echo, Daniel Rogan, of Sandpiper Road, admitted driving into Ms Steege and leaving the scene on April 25, 2015.

Two days later the 24-year-old handed himself into police and at Southampton Crown Court he pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.

He was sentenced to a year in prison and disqualified from driving for two-and-a-half years.

Mr Shorte said the the circumstances surrounding Ms Steege’s death demonstrated, “the problems that emergency services and hospital staff struggle with on a daily basis.”

“I am satisfied that that all the individuals involved tried to help Allison,” he said.

He recorded a conclusion of road traffic collision.