Another attack on a taxi driver in İzmir! Attacker caught on camera

Müslim SARIYAR / 12punto.com.tr

A taxi driver in İzmir was attacked during an incident that occurred on February 10 at approximately 00:50 on 3513 Street in the Ferahlı neighborhood. The taxi driver, Kaya Özel (23), was attacked by a man after picking up a woman who had signaled for him to stop. Özel, who was targeted by the attacker's punches, continued to be assaulted after getting out of the vehicle. The incident was recorded by the in-vehicle camera.

'DON'T STOP, KEEP GOING' SHE SAID

The footage shows Kaya Özel picking up a woman, the woman saying, 'Don't stop, keep going,' then moving toward the door to get out, at which point the taxi driver stops, and is subsequently attacked with punches through the driver's side window. The rest of the footage shows the young taxi driver getting out of the vehicle, and after a brief argument outside, getting back into his car and leaving the area.

"SHE WAS IN A STATE OF PANIC"

Kaya Özel described the moments of the attack as follows:

"I picked up a woman who was signaling while I was driving in the area known as Dayko slope. The woman was in a state of panic and told me, 'Don't stop, keep going.' While someone was running after the car shouting profanities, the woman in the back hesitated and made me stop the car. At that moment, the person running behind us shouting profanities caught up to the car and started attacking me. He started punching me directly without even establishing any dialogue. During this time, he was hitting my face and grabbing my throat, and I couldn't understand what was happening. Then he pulled me out of the vehicle and beat me outside as well; it lasted about 2 minutes. I couldn't retaliate while I was in the vehicle or afterwards. During this time, a passenger from another taxi also got out; I think he was the person's friend. He also insulted me and made threats. The person who attacked me was a large man in his 30s. He wasn't in his right mind and started attacking me without any dialogue. The woman's behavior during the attack was also strange. The moment I was being beaten, she threw herself into the man's arms and stepped back. While the man was beating me there, she didn't intervene at all, she was just worried about getting her bag from the vehicle."

Taxi driver Kaya Özel said, "Especially in İzmir, incidents of violence against our colleagues have increased significantly in recent days. We are just trying to earn a living, we are working people. We all have spouses, friends, and families. We expect solution-oriented measures from the authorities. If this is not stopped, worse things could happen to us at any moment."

It has been learned that the attacker is being sought by the police.