"Beat & Release": Did Her "Lighting Beauty" Get Her Off, After She Fled Accident Scene?, in Istanbul

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 18 January 2024)

Judges declined to elaborate on "discretionary" reduction.

Hmmmmm....

In Esenler, Istanbul, on 1 February 2023 Ferdi Ağdaş hit a road barrier

and a police team came to his assistance.  Ağdaş was uninjured and 

policeman Muhammet Bektaş began to fill out the forms related to the

accident.  However (!), a car driven by Berivan Yıldırım (whose surname

means "lightning")  came speeding along and crashed into the police 

car parked in the emergency shoulder lane of the road. 

Ağdaş was killed and Bektaş was injured but Berivan hanım fled without 

stopping.  Since she fled no alcohol test could be administered to her.

However, police determined from witnesses and video images that Berivan

hanım had been consuming alcohol prior to the crash.  She was jailed but

in court she stated that "I did not drink alcohol. That day it was snowing

and since my speed was 110 kph (about 70 mph) this accident happened."

Nevertheless, the public prosecutor took note of Berivan hanım's driver-

candidate status and her alcohol drinking, her disregard for adverse 

weather conditions, and the fact that she fled the scene to request a 

22.5-year jail sentence.   

Berivan hanım continued to insist that "it was an accident. I want to be 

released."  The court committee decided on a "takdiri indirim" 

(discretionary reduction) of the sentence to 5 years, seized her license for 

two years and, based on the nature of the accident and time served, 

released her (!!).  

A member of the court committee objected to Berivan hanım's release,

citing the fact that she fled the scene, leaving an injured victim there,

and opined that she did not deserve the "takdiri indirim".