Pedestrian death suspect acquitted
Driver breaks down in tears after judges rule he was not to blame for ‘unpreventable’ fatal accident
A TAXI driver accused of causing the death of a pedestrian has been acquitted. Ayhan Kılıç was found not guilty by Lefkoşa Assize Court over the death of Yunus Alkan, 20.
The accident occurred at around 1.40am on July 6, 2019, when Alkan – who had “escaped” from his military unit and was wearing camouflage – suddenly ran into the road and was struck by the left front side of Kılıç’s car between the second and third kilometres of the Değirmenlik-Girne main road.
Kılıç was subsequently arrested and charged with “causing death by carelessness and recklessness”, a charge he denied. He spent a total of nine months remanded in custody pending the outcome of his trial.
His lawyer Sedef Özzafer successfully argued that it had been “impossible” for her client to avoid colliding with Alkan.
After evaluating the facts of the case, the court ruled that the incident had been an “unpreventable accident”. Reports said Mr Kılıç “shed tears of joy” with his family after his acquittal.
The “unanimous” decision to acquit Mr Kılıç was taken by judges Fadıl
Aksun, Vedia Berkut Barkın and Murat Soytaç.
Reading out the verdict on behalf of the court, Judge Soytaç emphasised that the defendant was not speeding at the time of the accident and that due to tree branches at the side of the road it would have been “impossible to see someone who suddenly ran into the road wearing camouflage”.