Driver hospitalized after being attacked by Lithuanian boxer he was providing VIP transfer service to

Mehmet Özkan, a retiree who works as a tour driver using his own vehicle, set off after picking up his customer from a hotel he was directed to by the firm he works for. Yesterday, around 21:00, while the vehicle was in motion, a dispute over phone charging occurred between Mehmet Özkan and the Lithuanian boxer named Robertas Kotas. Özkan, who did not understand that his customer wanted him to charge his phone, was beaten by Robertas Kotas, who is a professional boxer in his home country. Özkan was treated by medical teams he managed to call with difficulty and was taken to the hospital. Mehmet Özkan was shocked to learn from the police that the attacker was a champion boxer.

Stating that the firm he works for called him and asked him to pick up a customer from a hotel, Özkan said, "I picked up my customer from the hotel around 21:00 in the evening. While on the road, this person left his phone on the right seat. Of course, he was drunk. Later, he took the phone and looked at it. He said something. I assume he wanted me to charge it. After that, he started punching me in the head, asking why I didn't put it on charge. I was driving at the time. I was going at about 70-80 km/h. I wanted to stop the car, but of course, I struggled a lot. It swerved left and right. I stopped on the right. I wanted to get out to save myself, but I couldn't.

Because punches were constantly coming to my head, I couldn't unbuckle my seatbelt. Eventually, I managed to get the seatbelt off my head. He opened the back door again and came to the front. He grabbed me by the collar, threw me to the ground, and started hitting me again. Later, I wanted to call the police. My phone fell, I couldn't find my phone. After finding the phone, I called 155. After a while, they sent an ambulance. Then another ambulance arrived. They took him to a separate place. They took me to Serik State Hospital. At that moment, two passing vehicles stopped. They wanted to stop him. Of course, I was running away out of fear. He kept running after me. Later, I was taken under treatment at the hospital. I stayed for three or four hours," he said.

"I cheated death"

Özkan said, "After the incident, the police said, 'You were lucky to escape from him.' They brought his picture; he was a boxing champion. They asked, 'How did you cope with him?' I was shocked too. I thank God, I cheated death," he said. Stating that he thinks he was beaten because he did not plug the phone into the charger, Özkan said, "He gave me the phone. I didn't understand what he wanted; he must have meant 'plug it into the charger.' Because in his statement to the police, he said, 'I gave it to him so he would plug my phone into the charger.' Since the road was crowded at that moment, I couldn't plug it in. Later, he took the phone. I guess he got angry because of the charging issue. I will file a complaint about this situation to the international human rights court. I will have his license revoked. They do not have the right to hit civilians. They cannot hit people during a fight or argument," he stated.

Explaining that he gave alms because he cheated death, Mehmet Özkan said, "After the incident I experienced, I told my wife, 'Take this money, go give it as alms to a beggar or someone in need.' Because I cheated death. They put me on an IV drip for 4-5 hours at the hospital. I remained under observation. We obtained a medical report for the assault and I filed a complaint. We treat tourists coming from foreign countries so well that we do whatever they ask, and then some. I mean, do we deserve this treatment?

It's not just me; all my colleagues are in a difficult situation. We rely only on God. Because we don't know what they are doing in the back. It's a good thing we didn't die," he said.

Mehmet Özkan's lawyer, Cemal Karaca, stated that they would follow the process, saying, "We will ensure that justice is served. It is evident from the damage my client sustained that he is a professional boxer. We will also bring this to the judiciary as a factor," he said.