Teacher appears in court over accident that claimed little Miray's life

The trial of Banu Kaya, a physical education and sports teacher at Gazi Primary and Secondary School in the Saray neighborhood of Altınordu district, began at the Ordu 5th Criminal Court of First Instance regarding the incident that occurred on September 2, 2024.

Teacher Banu Kaya attended the hearing as a defendant via the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS) from the Efirli E-Type Prison, where she is being held in custody. The victim's mother, Eda Arslan, and father, Yakup Arslan, along with Miray's family, legal counsel for both sides, and the defendant's lawyer were present.

"NO WARNING GIVEN"

In her testimony at the hearing, teacher Banu Kaya stated that she had been working as a teacher at the same school for 13 years. Stating that she went to school in her own vehicle on the day of the incident and that the school's sliding iron gate was open, Kaya said, "A different vehicle was parked at the school entrance.

When I entered through the gate, the vehicle's sensors did not give any warning. At that moment, the windows were closed, the air conditioning was on, and the radio was off. As I was passing over the bottom rails of the sliding gate, the vehicle shook enough to indicate that I had passed over a bump. I parked my vehicle, and when I opened the door, I saw Miray on the ground. At that moment, I heard screaming. I felt unwell and fainted; they took me to the tea room, and I don't remember the rest," she said.

Requesting acquittal, teacher Banu Kaya claimed that other teachers, administrators, and staff at the school also parked their vehicles in the schoolyard and that there was no other parking area, stating that she did not accept the allegations against her.

"THE VEHICLE THE DEFENDANT WAS DRIVING WAS FAST"

In her testimony as a complainant at the hearing, mother Eda Arslan alleged that teacher Banu Kaya was driving fast, saying, "The day of the incident was the first day of school as part of orientation week. We were in the schoolyard with my daughter Miray around 08:30. My daughter's classroom teacher had not yet arrived. My daughter's class was supposed to start at 08:40. Miray was playing in the yard with her older sister and friends at the time. I was also in the yard. The vehicle the defendant was driving was fast. As she approached the school entrance gate, she maneuvered to the right. I cannot be certain if my daughter was crouching with her back to the gate at that moment. The defendant entered the yard quickly and drove over my daughter with her vehicle. I did not clearly see the front wheel of the vehicle pass over my daughter. However, as I turned toward the vehicle because it had hit my daughter, I saw the rear wheels of the vehicle pass over her," she said.

"SHE DID NOT EVEN REALIZE SHE HAD HIT HER"

Mother Eda Arslan stated the following:

"I couldn't get very close when I went to her. My daughter was on the ground covered in blood. I pulled myself together and called 112. I couldn't speak on the phone. I gave the phone to the shopkeeper across from the school. The defendant continued on her way without even realizing she had hit my daughter and parked her vehicle in the area reserved for service vehicles. I am filing a complaint against the defendant."

Father Yakup Arslan stated in his testimony at the court that he was in a village in Giresun province on the day of the incident, that he learned about the incident upon a call from his wife's phone, and that when he went to the hospital, they were informed after a while that his daughter had lost her life, adding that they were filing a complaint.

Dilek A., who attended the hearing as a witness, said that she had also brought her own daughter to school on the day of the incident and that her daughter would be in the same class as Miray. She stated that she heard a loud vehicle engine noise just before the incident, and when she turned around, she saw teacher Banu Kaya entering the schoolyard at a high speed, and that the vehicle hit the child and then the rear tire passed over the child. Witness Dilek A. said, "Afterward, the teacher came to the scene, and then the area became crowded."

In the prosecution's opinion at the hearing, it was submitted that the defendant was primarily at fault, that she committed the crime of 'causing death by conscious negligence,' that she should have foreseen that young children could be present in the area in question, and that there was a change in elevation between the garden entrance and the area where the accident occurred. It was requested that the defendant's detention continue.

The hearing was adjourned to a later date.

BACKGROUND OF THE INCIDENT

In the incident that occurred on September 2 at Gazi Primary and Secondary School in Altınordu district, first-grade student Miray Arslan (7), who was going to school for the first time as part of orientation week, was struck by the school's Physical Education and Sports Teacher Banu Kaya, who did not notice the child while driving her Mercedes GLB 200 model SUV with license plate 52 BK 790 in front of the iron gate in the schoolyard. Miray Arslan, who remained under the SUV and was seriously injured, lost her life at the Ordu University Training and Research Hospital, where she had been taken. Teacher Banu Kaya, who was detained after the incident, was arrested by the judgeship to which she was referred this morning following her procedures at the police station.