T.C.'s father Bülent Cihantimur: 'My son must be held accountable before Turkish law'

The accident that occurred on a forest road in Istanbul's Eyüpsultan district on the night of Friday, March 1, and the subsequent escape of the unlicensed driver T.C., who was taken first to Egypt and then to the U.S. by his mother, the author Eylem Tok, remains a top issue on Turkey's agenda.

As part of the investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was learned that the 17-year-old driver T.C.'s father, Op. Dr. Bülent Cihantimur, was summoned to the prosecutor's office to give a statement as a "suspect" on charges of "aiding and abetting a criminal."

Bülent Cihantimur, who was placed under a travel ban as part of the investigation, went to the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan to give his statement regarding the accident.

HE ISSUED A WRITTEN STATEMENT

In his written statement, Bülent Cihantimur, who noted that he has been a physician for 24 years, described the day of the accident as follows:

''On the day the accident occurred, I went home and slept after a long surgery. I learned about the accident through a phone call from my ex-wife, Eylem Tok. Eylem Tok called me about 1.5 hours after the accident. It was midnight when I received the call. My house is in Mecidiyeköy, very close to the clinic. I immediately took a taxi to the house where my ex-wife Eylem and my son lived together. My son was upstairs; he was in shock and not in a condition to speak.

Eylem was also walking around the house making phone calls at that time. Since I did not see my son's condition as good, I first wanted to take him for an examination to see if he had any condition requiring emergency intervention. At this time, it was not known to me that there were any injured or deceased in the accident.

I hung up Eylem's phone and said, 'Let's first see if my son, who is in shock, has any health problems requiring emergency intervention, and then, since he does not have a driver's license, let's inform the lawyers and do what needs to be done.' I took my son and set off for the clinic, driving the electric vehicle that was there myself.

At this time, I saw Ayşe Ceren S., one of our company employees, in the garden. Eylem Tok also got into Ayşe's vehicle and they started following us. Although I tried to talk to my son on the way, he was closed off to the outside world due to the impact of the accident. During this time, the electric vehicle I was driving first gave a warning and then ran out of battery.

The vehicle Eylem was in, which was following us, stopped beside us. We moved my son to that vehicle and I told Eylem, 'You go to the clinic, the child is still in shock, I called our driver Adem, I will come with him right behind you.' Adem came to me, picked me up, and we went to the clinic. When we got to the clinic, there was no one there.

It was during this time that I learned about Eylem's plan to take my son abroad, the injured in the accident, the scale of the accident, and that a death had occurred. Although I called Eylem many times, she did not answer her phone and eventually turned it off. My son is 16 years old; he is a child who does not use alcohol or substances and has no bad habits.

When my son comes out of the shock he experienced that night, he is a child who will accept being tried in Turkey and paying the legal price for this mistake he made.

I have been in contact with the family of Oğuz Murat Aci, who passed away after the accident. I am very sorry for what happened. I know that the losses cannot be brought back. However, I will do everything in my power for the victim's family for the rest of my life. I believe my son should also come to Turkey and be held accountable before Turkish law.

I will do my best for my son to come to Turkey and be held accountable before justice. I am very sorry for everything that has happened. Today, even though I was not summoned, I will give my statement regarding the matter of my own volition. I wanted to inform the public about the matter before giving my statement.''

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

One of three ATVs traveling in Eyüpsultan had broken down, and while an attempt was being made to repair the broken-down vehicle pulled to the side of the road, one of two vehicles traveling in the same direction had struck the 3 ATVs there.

Five people injured in the accident were taken to the hospital, and Oğuz Murat Aci, one of the injured, could not be saved despite medical intervention.

In the investigation, it was determined that the 17-year-old driver T.C., who caused the accident, had left the scene with the vehicle of his mother, Eylem Tok, who had arrived at the scene, and that they had gone to Istanbul Airport around 02:00 and flown to Egypt around 04:30.

Within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, an arrest warrant was issued for T.C. and Eylem Tok, who fled to Egypt, and subsequently, a letter was written to the Ministry of Justice with a request for a red notice.

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç also announced that contact had been made with Egyptian judicial authorities and that the temporary arrest request document for the extradition of the suspects, who were determined to have gone to the U.S., had been forwarded to the competent U.S. authorities.

Ayşe Ceren S., a corporate communications specialist working at the workplace of the suspect's father, Bülent Cihantimur, was arrested on charges of "aiding and abetting a criminal" and "concealing evidence," while judicial control measures were applied to Cihantimur and A.K., who had delivered the lost phone of one of the injured to the police after the accident.