Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
A school bus driver has caused outrage by blaming the pine tree on the side of the road that the bus he was driving crashed into in an accident that killed five children and injured five others.
The school bus was carrying pupils when the driver allegedly lost control and came off the road, plunging into a heavily forested area by the roadside near the village of Catagil, in the district of Iscehisar, in the Turkish province of Afyonkarahisar, on 11th October 2021 and he made the claim through his lawyer at a hearing on Monday, 14th March 2022.
Five pupils died in the crash and five others were injured, with the school bus reportedly ending up broken in half.
Ismail Eser, 11, Melisa Demirel, 14, Nisa Eser, 14, Teslime Eser, 13, and Damla Duran, 11, died in the terrible accident, while Rana Eser, 12, Hakan Tek, 16, Musa Eser,10, and Yagmur Duran, 11, were injured.
As part of the investigation launched after the accident, the minibus driver, named as Adalettin Sen, 54, and the owner of the vehicle, who has been named as Ismail Demir, age not reported, were arrested.
The hearing took place at the Afyonkarahisar 1st High Criminal Court, in the presence of the defendants, their lawyers, and the families of the young children who died or who were injured.
Sen’s lawyer, who has not been named, claimed that the bend in the road where the accident took place had gravel on it, stating that this affected how the incident played out. But shockingly, the lawyer also stated that the deaths and injuries sustained by the children in the crash was due to a pine tree on the roadside.
The defence lawyer reportedly claimed that the deaths were due to the road having been built too close to the forested area. He reportedly added that the pine tree on the side of the road should have been chopped down.
The lawyer requested that his client be acquitted. But it was ruled that Sen should remain detained facing charges of negligent manslaughter. Demir, on the other hand, was released pending trial.
Fatih Demirel, the father of Melisa Demirel, one of the pupils who lost her life in the incident, made a statement to the press after the hearing, in which she said: “The result we expected did not happen. While we were waiting for justice to be served, lawyers blamed pine trees and bushes and left the courtroom just like that.”
When asked by journalists how the lawyers had determined that the pine tree was the guilty party, Demirel replied: “They said that so many people wouldn’t have died if there hadn’t been a pine tree in the way.”
The grieving father said that they had been shocked at the defence’s position, and Demirel demanded that the incident be re-investigated and that officials from the Directorate of National Education, whom they consider responsible, also be tried in the case.
It is currently unclear when the next hearing is set to take place.