Hear the voice of Işıl Öykü Dinç’s family: 'Her jeans were shredded, there was so much blood on the ground'

Sinem Nazlı Demir - 12punto.com.tr

Işıl Öykü Dinç lost her life on May 18, 2025, after being struck by a car with license plate 34 KAB 356 while attempting to cross the street on Erol Kaya Street in the Kaynarca neighborhood of Istanbul’s Pendik district. The accident report listed Ömer Faruk Ballı, an intensive care nurse at a private hospital, as the driver of the vehicle. Ballı was arrested on May 19; on May 21, he was released with a travel ban and a requirement to sign in three days a week. A lawsuit was filed against him for "causing death by negligence," seeking a prison sentence of two to six years.

The inability to access footage from MOBESE (surveillance) cameras at the scene and surrounding security cameras, the failure to include the rental car's GPS records in the file, and the late inclusion of a nine-second motorcycle camera recording were among the points the family has contested since the beginning of the investigation.

REPORTS CONTRADICTED EACH OTHER

The first hearing of the case was held on November 21, 2025, at the Istanbul Anatolian 56th Criminal Court of First Instance. Ballı argued that he was driving at approximately 50 kilometers per hour and stopped after hearing a sound in the vehicle's right-side blind spot. Furthermore, the couple Ömer Faruk and Ayten Ballı admitted that they did not maneuver, did not brake, did not call 112, did not intervene to help Işıl despite being intensive care nurses, and did not inform the police officers who arrived at the scene that they were intensive care nurses/healthcare workers. Işıl’s friend, who was with her at the time of the incident, stated that some sentences in her initial statement were not her own, that she did not see the color of the traffic light, and that she was subjected to pressure from the police. The hearing was adjourned to December 23.

In the second hearing, three witnesses who were at the scene were heard. The witnesses stated that the vehicle was moving very fast and that after the impact, people around were looking for a doctor or a nurse. They explained that Ömer Faruk and Ayten Ballı, who are intensive care nurses, did not respond to the calls of citizens and police asking, "Is there a doctor or nurse here?" and did not intervene to help Işıl.

An independent expert report commissioned by the Dinç family concluded that the vehicle was traveling at a speed of at least 94.40 kilometers per hour, that the driver did not brake, did not perform an evasive maneuver, and ran a red light. While the police report stated that Işıl stepped onto the road approximately 14 meters past the pedestrian crossing, the expert report indicated that the footage showed Işıl crossing in the pedestrian crossing area.

In the Forensic Medicine Institute report, Işıl was found to be primarily at fault, while the defendant driver was found to be faultless. Upon the family's objection, the court sent the file to the Expanded Superior Board of the Forensic Medicine Institute's Traffic Specialization Department to have a new report prepared.

FIVE WITNESSES SAID “Ayten Ballı WAS AT THE WHEEL”

In July 2026, five eyewitnesses who reached out to the family alleged that it was not Ömer Faruk Ballı who was driving the car at the time of the impact, but Ayten Ballı, who was sitting next to him, and that the pair swapped seats after the accident. Ayten Ballı, who testified as a witness on the day of the incident, had claimed that Ömer Faruk Ballı was driving the car and that she was in the passenger seat.

The fourth hearing of the case was held on September 11, 2026. Two eyewitnesses heard at this hearing stated that a woman was driving the car and that the seats were swapped after the incident. The court decided to continue the judicial control measures against Ömer Faruk Ballı and to wait for the expected report from the Forensic Medicine Institute to reach the file, adjourning the hearing to November 27.

FATHER YUNUS DİNÇ: “THEY DESCRIBED THE DRIVER SWAP SECOND BY SECOND”

Speaking after the hearing, Işıl’s father, Yunus Dinç, said that the two eyewitnesses described the driver as a woman and explained second by second how they swapped seats immediately after the incident. Stating that the witnesses also noted the vehicle ran a red light and was moving very fast, Dinç said, "These witnesses have confirmed what actually happened."

Dinç stated that the first eyewitness was the driver of a vehicle waiting to turn from the side road toward Tuzla, and that the witness saw the car hit Işıl. According to the witness's account, Ömer Faruk Ballı got out of the passenger door, opened the driver's door, helped Ayten Ballı out of the driver's seat, and said something to her like, "Stay calm, I'll handle it." Ayten Ballı, crying, said, "It's not my fault, the girl jumped onto the road suddenly." The witness also described a very loud noise at the moment of impact.

Dinç stated that the second witness also said the woman was shouting, "I am innocent," and that the vehicle was moving very fast. He emphasized that the testimonies of the two witnesses complemented each other.

Stating that Ömer Faruk Ballı accused the witnesses of lying, Dinç said that Ballı defended himself by claiming he was the driver and saying, "I didn't hit the girl, the girl hit my car and damaged it." Dinç, who argued that Ballı was taking the blame for his wife, reacted to this statement:

"He asked for the floor after the witnesses' testimonies. He made an immoral statement like, 'Işıl hit my car and damaged it.' The defendant's lawyer, unable to find any holes in the witnesses' statements, asked, 'Where did these witnesses come from after 16 months?'"

“NO CRIMINAL COMPLAINT FILED DESPITE WITNESS TESTIMONIES”

Father Dinç, stating that no criminal complaint has been filed against Ayten Ballı despite the witnesses' statements, noted that the judge said he would wait for the speed report from the Forensic Medicine Institute.

"They kill my daughter by hitting her at a speed of at least 94 kilometers per hour when the speed limit at intersections should be 30 kilometers; then they shamelessly try to find fault in my daughter," said Dinç, adding that Ömer Faruk and Ayten Ballı did not call 112 and did not check his daughter's pulse despite being healthcare workers.

Dinç, who wants the file to be handled under the scope of "probable intent," said:

"If you watch the death of the girl you hit for 18 minutes, that makes you a murderer. This file is a murder file. All the evidence points in this direction. There is not a single witness or piece of evidence in their favor. We want them to receive a sentence without any reductions."

MOTHER ÖZLEM DİNÇ: “WE HAD TO LISTEN TO THESE THINGS”

Işıl’s mother, Özlem Dinç, explained that the second eyewitness provided more details about the consequences of the incident during the hearing. According to Dinç’s account, Ömer Faruk Ballı said, "I was driving at my normal speed." The witness, stating that the vehicle was very fast and that Işıl was dragged for a long distance on the road, said, "Her jeans were shredded, there was nothing left on her. There was so much blood and pieces of flesh on the ground."

Özlem Dinç asked, "As a mother and father, we had to listen to these things. Why do I have to hear in court that my daughter's flesh was left on the road?" Stating that the accounts of those who saw the moment of the accident immediately after the event were in the same direction, Dinç noted that the two witnesses heard in the last hearing spoke in a way that complemented each other.

“WHERE IS THE REST OF THE NINE-SECOND FOOTAGE?”

Stating that they could not access the camera recordings of any shops or hotels at the scene, Özlem Dinç reminded that there was a MOBESE pole in the area. She also asked the following questions regarding the nine-second motorcycle camera recording that entered the file:

"Where is the rest of the nine-second video? Why wasn't this video taken in its entirety? Why wasn't the license plate of the motorcycle that saw the incident identified?"

Stating that they did not see any sign of remorse from the other side, Dinç recounted that she and her husband had a nervous breakdown and started crying after the witness described the details regarding Işıl’s body.

Reacting to the fact that no criminal complaint was filed against Ayten Ballı, mother Dinç asked, "Does a file for causing death by negligence take a year and a half? Does my daughter have no value in this country?"

Stating that the Ministry of Family and Social Services did not attend the September 11 hearing despite being an intervening party in the case, Dinç reacted to the Ministry's absence, asking, "Why didn't they come?"

NEXT HEARING ON NOVEMBER 27

Stating that they want the case to reach a conclusion, Özlem Dinç said, "We want to see the real person sitting in the defendant's chair at the next hearing."

The next hearing of the case regarding the death of Işıl Öykü Dinç will be held on Friday, November 27, 2026, at the Istanbul Anatolian 56th Criminal Court of First Instance. The Dinç family is calling on the public to follow the hearing and support the struggle for justice they are waging for Işıl, with the demand that the real driver be identified and all those responsible be put on trial.

News Source: Sinem Nazlı Demir