Unlicensed driver causes death, released

In Kartal, Istanbul, 70-year-old Şükrü Çiçekçayır was critically injured when he was struck by a car speeding from the wrong direction while he was attempting to cross the street at a traffic light. Çiçekçayır was dragged for meters in the air following the impact, and the driver fled the scene. The elderly man was taken into intensive care for treatment.

DETAINED FOR NEGLIGENT INJURY

Following the accident, the 17-year-old unlicensed driver, M.A., was detained on charges of "causing injury by negligence." However, the unlicensed driver was released under judicial control. After a 34-day treatment process, Şükrü Çiçekçayır passed away in the hospital. Following this, the legal classification of the driver's crime was changed, and he was detained again on charges of "causing death by negligence," but was released once more. The Çiçekçayır family reacted to this situation.

LET JUSTICE BE SERVED

Çiçekçayır's wife, Sakine Çiçekçayır, stated, "He was in good health. He had the traffic accident on the third day of Eid al-Adha; he had fractures everywhere. He lay in the hospital for 34 days and passed away. He was working with the dream of building a house in the village. Let justice be served; let him be arrested as soon as possible and serve his sentence."

Şükrü Çiçekçayır’s daughter, Arzu Kurt, stated that the driver did not even offer them condolences and that his release under judicial control only deepened their pain. Kurt said, "Our pain has multiplied, and despite my father being in that condition, we had to run after these people. That was the hardest part; we couldn't even live through our grief. We want this person to be arrested as soon as possible and for justice to be served."

'PUBLIC CONSCIENCE WOUNDED'

The Çiçekçayır family's lawyer, Cem Kaya Karatün, stated that the driver fled the scene and that the suspect's release has wounded the public conscience. Karatün said, "An unlicensed driver speeding in the wrong direction and causing a person's death is, in my opinion, an exceeding of intent. We expect a lawsuit to be filed for the crime of causing death by conscious negligence."

He also noted that a taxi driver who witnessed the accident is a key witness and that they are waiting to reach the taxi driver to advance the investigation.

News Source: 12punto