Ezgi Alya Yiğit, a high school student with a scooter, lost her life, and Şimal Toprak was injured when unlicensed driver Osman S. was hit by his car in Gaziantep. The release of the driver, who was arrested after the incident, a month later, doubled the pain of the Yiğit family. The petition launched by the Yiğit family for the arrest of Osman S., collected 21 thousand 508 signatures.
Release:
The accident occurred on April 12, 2022 in Batıkent District. High school senior students Ezgi Alya Yiğit and Şimal Toprak were on their way home with the scooter they were riding together, while the car under the direction of the unlicensed driver Osman S. was hit.
Ezgi Alya Yiğit, one of the two injured friends, could not be saved despite the efforts of the doctors in the hospital where she was treated.
Şimal Toprak recovered and was discharged. Unlicensed driver Osman S., who was detained after the accident and claimed that he hit the students’ vehicle with a scooter during his interrogation, was arrested.
After the application made to the Criminal Court of First Instance with the expert report, Osman S. was released one month later.
EZGI WAS DEFECTIVE
After the investigation conducted by the public prosecutor’s office, the indictment was prepared. The indictment demanding that Osman S. be imprisoned from 2 to 15 years for the crime of ‘causing death and injury by negligence’ was accepted by the Gaziantep Juvenile Heavy Penal Court.
In the accident report included in the indictment, it was stated that the driver was at ‘secondary’ fault because he did not slow down his speed in the areas where the intersection and pedestrian crossing are located, while the scooter driver Ezgi, who lost his life, said, “The first p of the drivers who leave the divided road from the intersections without a traffic light sign device and sign to the vehicles ping by this road. It was stated that he was at ‘actual’ fault because he violated the rule of ‘not giving one’s right’.
In the indictment, it was also noted in the expert report, which referred to the Highway Traffic Law, that the driver of the car was in violation and negligence in the accident, and that the scooter driver was in gross negligence and violation.
SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN STARTED
The release of the unlicensed driver after a month of detention further increased the pain of the Yiğit family.
Ezgi Yiğit’s older sister, Elif Kayra Yiğit, said that they started fighting right after the accident and they could not even experience their pain.
Explaining that they have been going door-to-door looking for camera recordings and eyewitnesses since the first day, Yiğit emphasized that they have been conducting a great campaign both in practice and through social media.
Elif Kayra Yiğit, emphasizing that Osman S: took her brother away from life in the campaign she started on social media, said, “My brother is not alive, but this unlicensed driver is wandering outside. The trial is still ongoing, but Osman S. is not in custody. One of the busiest streets of Gaziantep cannot be accessed by mobese images? Where are these images? Despite a request for detention, he was released the next day. My brother was just 17 years old. I will continue to strive until my last breath for the arrest of this murderer who took my brother from us and buried him in the cold. Is my brother’s life this cheap? How cheap is a human life? Justice will be needed one day. We hope that day will not be too late for anyone. Because we lost our own life. We are making an effort so that other lives do not get burned. We expect sensitivity from everyone” and asks for support. So far, 21 thousand 508 people have supported the petition initiated by Elif Yiğit.
‘MUST BE PENALIZED’
Elif Kara Yiğit explained that it was not right to release the driver who killed her brother and that she was fighting to be punished, and used the following statements:
* We brought up a petition for my brother. We want everyone to support us as much as they can. We could not experience our brother’s pain from seeking justice.
*We started our search for justice right after the accident and it has been more than a year and we still continue. We’re going door-to-door looking for footage. We are looking for something, even a small one, to see if there are any eyewitnesses.
* While we are doing this, why is it not trying to find any evidence by the authorities? It’s a very busy place.
* It is said that no camera recording was found. While we were wandering, we also encountered people with images in their hands, but then they do not contact us.
* All we want is for the images to come out, let’s know what it is, as a result, we only want this. While my brother can’t even go to university, the person who does this can change cities and go to university as if he were awarded an award.
*We lost our brother, the person who caused this murder can go to university. If anyone has even the smallest photograph, please contact us. As a family, we just want the guilty to be punished.
‘WE WILL HAVE A REQUEST FOR DATA RECOVERY’
Yiğit family’s lawyer, Ahmet Ergin Sözen, stated that they expect the court to send the file to the Forensic Medicine Institute at the next hearing, and that the expert report in the file is not suitable for making a decision.
Noting that there is a high probability of footage in the area where the incident took place, Sözen said that in the next hearing, the file should be sent to the Forensic Medicine Institute, a new study should be carried out to recover the data, all buildings and workplaces should be visited one by one with experts from the police or outside, people have images in their hands. He said they would like to be collected.
Sözen said, “At the current stage, no camera footage has emerged of the moment of the accident. We want the footage to be reviewed from the very first moment of the investigation. In particular, we have requests for data recovery. We know that data experts and law enforcement teams of law enforcement also have competent work on this issue. The place where the accident took place is one of the busiest places in Gaziantep. Immediately after the accident and due to this situation, additional traffic lights were placed there. There are more than 20 workplaces in that area. There are many buildings and apartments. It is impossible not to have an eyewitness. Eyewitnesses do not want to meet in this sense. Of course, we will legally demand this from the court,” he said.
‘I WILL FIGHT TO MY LAST BREATH’
Ezgi Yiğit’s father, Mehmet Yiğit, stated that they will fight within the law until their last breath and said, “We saw in this file that the institutions of the state are blind, deaf and dumb. Even the cameras went blind. We could not even take people for eyewitness testimony. Either people are afraid or we feel that way. This was no ordinary accident. Our lungs were broken. They say time heals everything, but it didn’t happen with us. We learn to live by keeping the pain inside ourselves. My daughter was a very successful child. They have many titles and degrees. He left 108 clear out of 120 questions in his last exam. For us, nothing will ever be the same again. We know this. But we at least want to feel that justice is on our side. If this happens, our pain will not be relieved, but our conscience will be relieved a little bit. This pain will go with us to the ground from now on. I will continue to fight until my last breath. We will not step back legally, there is no price for my daughter’s life,” he said.
‘I WANT TO GIVE GOOD NEWS ON YOUR BIRTHDAY’
Ezgi Yiğit’s mother, Emine Gülay, said that it was her daughter’s birthday 4 days after the next hearing, adding that her only wish was to give her daughter good news this time.
Emine Gülay Yiğit, describing her meeting with her daughter before the accident, in tears,
he said:
*My only wish is to bring the camera footage. If Ezgi is really wrong, let her come out too. I want you to be comfortable. I don’t understand how my daughter Ezgi is considered guilty when there is no picture.
*My daughter’s birthday 4 days after the court. My only wish is to give good news when I go to him this time. It’s really hard to hold on. The night before the accident, I always had a problem.
*My daughter helped me with the housework at night. He didn’t want me to get tired because of my illness. I couldn’t see it that evening, then I couldn’t see it in the morning, it happened anyway. I wish I could see it.
* I still can’t believe it is a very difficult situation. My only wish is for that person to be punished. My daughter also wanted to drive, she wanted so much, but we never allowed her because she was not old enough.
*I don’t understand why such children are given cars. His friend Şimal, who is with Ezgi. He also says that they are cautious by looking left and right with Ezgi. That person already says he saw my daughter while he was driving to court.
*This person must be punished. Although my daughter was top of the school, she could not go to university. (DHA)