A drunk driver took his life: A call for justice for İlkan Karaman!

Emre Ali Önder, the drunk driver who struck and killed former basketball player İlkan Karaman as he was trying to cross the road in the Datça district of Muğla on the night of September 8, 2024, was released at the first hearing.

While the court decided to release Emre Ali Önder under judicial control with a travel ban, taking into account the time he had already spent in prison, the basketball community reacted strongly to the decision. The Datça Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has also appealed the decision, while thousands of people, led by basketball fans and the basketball family, have issued a call for "justice for İlkan Karaman" on social media.

İlkan Karaman, who lived in İzmir and played for many teams in the Basketball Super League as well as for the National Team for a period, was struck by a car with license plate 48 AIJ 713, driven by civil engineer Emre Ali Önder, at around 02:30 on September 8, 2024, the day he moved to the Datça district of Muğla, while he was trying to cross the road. Karaman, who was injured in the accident, could not be saved at the Marmaris State Hospital where he was taken.

Önder, who fled after the accident, was caught 2 hours later in front of the Datça State Hospital. Önder, who was determined to have a blood alcohol level of 1.19 promille during his examination and was taken into custody, was subsequently arrested. Having been held in custody for only 4 months, Önder was released last week under judicial control conditions.

BASKED ISSUED A STATEMENT

Thousands of people, especially İlkan Karaman's basketball player friends, reacted to the release decision on social media.

Karaman's teammate from Karşıyaka, Mert Celep, rebelled against the release decision during a live interview after the Türk Telekom match yesterday.

The Professional Basketball Players Association (BASKED) also issued a statement regarding the decision to try the drunk driver who caused the unfortunate athlete's death without arrest.

The statement included the following expressions:

"It is known to the respected public that our brother İlkan Karaman, a valuable member of Turkish basketball, lost his life following a traffic accident in Datça on September 8, 2024. As the Professional Basketball Players Association, we are closely following the judicial process of this tragic incident.

In the accident that occurred in the Reşadiye neighborhood of Datça district at 02:30 at night according to official records, as clearly determined in the security camera footage, the vehicle driver who uncontrollably struck our brother İlkan, who was on the sidewalk, left the scene of the accident. The defendant driver, who was caught by law enforcement officers in a very short time (at 03:45) at the Datça State Hospital immediately after the incident, was determined to have a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit according to test results. Furthermore, other reports regarding the accident stated that the defendant driver was primarily at fault, while our brother İlkan had no fault.

The release decision given in favor of the defendant at the second hearing of the case held at the Datça Criminal Court of First Instance on January 10, 2025, has deeply wounded the public conscience. While all official documents, expert reports, details of the moment of the accident, subsequent developments, and evidence present in the file are clear, the fact that the Local Court gave a RELEASE decision in favor of the defendant at only the second session has created an indescribable astonishment in the sports community.

This incident, which caused the end of a young person's life, has once again revealed that the grave consequences of drunk driving, which deeply wound the public conscience, cannot be characterized as an 'accident,' and that this is a conscious choice. We are observing the developments together with our brother İlkan's family lawyers. As an association, we will also file our application for legal intervention and will follow the process until the end. The next hearing will be held at the Datça Courthouse on March 14, 2025. We invite the entire sports community and the public to be sensitive to this process."

HE HAD BEEN DRAFTED TO THE NBA

İlkan Karaman, who lost his life at the age of just 34, grew up in the Tofaş youth system and played for Pınar Karşıyaka, Fenerbahçe, Acıbadem University, Beşiktaş, İstanbul BŞB Spor, Büyükçekmece, Cholet, Antibes, Petkimspor, Yalovaspor, Manisa BŞB Spor, and most recently Çayırova Belediyespor in his career.

Standing 2.06 meters tall, İlkan Karaman, who also played for the National Team in the 2013 EuroBasket qualifiers, did not play in the NBA despite being selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2nd round, 57th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft.

İlkan Karaman, who represented our country in different clubs in Europe and Asia while also engaging in outdoor sports, had tens of thousands of followers on his social media accounts where he shared videos of nature, camping, diving, spearfishing, and training.