Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency:  Newsflash

This is the smiling picture of a teenage girl and her friend taken just hours before they and another friend were killed in a horrific car crash.

The driver was the sole survivor of the accident. He lost his arm and remains in hospital in a critical condition.

The four friends had been out on a night on the town, and the picture was taken before they climbed into the car to head home in the Turkish province of Konya at around 4 am on 22nd August.

The three victims have been named as Aybuke Ece Isik, 19, her pal Narter Kuyucu, 22, seen in the picture with her, and a third friend named Hasan Yazar, 21.

The accident happened on Safak Street in the district of Selcuklu when the 22-year-old driver, Mehmet Demirel, lost control.

According to the news site Milliyet, Demirel’s left arm was severed from his shoulder in the accident, and a five-hour operation to reattach the limb proved unsuccessful.

He remains in intensive care with multiple injuries, including bleeding in and around the brain.

According to the news site DHA, Demirel was driving when he lost control of the vehicle, hit the central reservation, and overturned in the road.

He was taken to the Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Medical Faculty Hospital by ambulance with serious injuries.

The bodies of the three victims were taken to the morgue of Konya City Hospital and handed over to their families after their autopsies were completed. Their funeral took place on 22nd August.

Kuyucu was a student at Yeditepe University’s IT department, Yazar was a student of English at Maltepe University, and Isik was waiting for her results after sitting her final exams in the summer.

The police said the driver was speeding at the time of the accident.