Multi-vehicle pile-up in both directions on the 15 July Martyrs Bridge: 10 vehicles involved

The accident occurred around 03:30 on the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, in the direction from the Anatolian side to the European side. According to the information obtained, the driver of the car with license plate 34 CVG 730 lost control of the steering wheel, partly due to being under the influence of alcohol, and rear-ended a taxi with license plate 34 TFN 05.

The taxi, which was sent spinning after the impact, first hit the taxi in front of it with license plate 34 TJY 77 and then hit the barrier. Two more vehicles with license plates 34 DFV 601 and 34 HGE 03, unable to stop on the road which had become slippery due to the cold weather, were also involved in the accident. Other citizens who saw the accident notified the police, fire department, and medical teams. The taxi driver, who was trapped in the vehicle, was rescued by the intervention of the fire crews dispatched to the scene.

While fire and medical teams intervened in the pile-up that occurred on the 15 July Martyrs Bridge in the direction from the Anatolian side to the European side, police teams ensured safety in the surrounding area. As traffic, which had stopped for a while, began to move in a controlled manner, one of the vehicles traveling in the direction from the European side to the Anatolian side slowed down to look at the pile-up.

At that moment, the vehicle coming from behind could not stop and hit the slowing vehicle. Police teams began to slow down traffic to ensure safety at the scene. However, 3 more vehicles, unable to stop on the road which had become slippery due to the cold weather, hit the vehicles in front. In the accident caused by a driver who slowed down to watch the first 5 vehicles involved in the pile-up, 5 more vehicles collided with each other.

N.B. (56), A.B. (50), who were removed from the crashed vehicles, and the intoxicated driver C.A. (44), who caused the accident, were taken to the nearest hospital by ambulance after the first intervention by medical teams at the scene. Traffic on the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, where the two-way pile-up occurred, was reopened after the vehicles involved in the accident were removed from the road.

There were no fatalities in the accident, and 3 people were taken to the hospital with injuries. Police teams have launched an investigation into the incident.

News Source : İHA