Istanbul bus driver slams into stop, killing one, injuring 13

ISTANBUL-Anadolu Agency

A driver killed one and injured 13 others on Nov. 3 as he rammed his public bus into a crowded stop in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district and attacked people who tried to prevent him from escaping with a knife.

One of the injured included a man who was stabbed as he tried to prevent the city bus driver from running away.

A police statement said that the 33-year-old bus driver was detained after he jumped into the sea to escape the scene.

Police said an investigation has been launched.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality also released a statement on Nov. 3, saying that the incident occurred at 16:30 local time in the city’s Beşiktaş district and involved the driver of the 27E Şirintepe-Kabataş line.

“An argument erupted when the privately-owned public transport bus was at Beşiktaş. According to the latest information received from the police, the bus driver who rammed into the Beşiktaş-Bahçeşehir bus stop – outside the route [of the bus] – caused 13 people to be injured. And when the driver got off the bus, he injured another person with a knife and then jumped into the sea. The police intervened in the incident and detained the driver,” said the statement.

The municipality also said that they had launched a “comprehensive analysis” about the company that operates the relevant private company that runs the public transport buses. “We announce to the public that for Istanbulites not to go through such an incident again, we will take very comprehensive precautions, including analyzing the private public bus system,” it said.

Municipality spokesperson Murat Ongun also released a statement regarding the incident on his Twitter account, saying: “Yalçın Tahir Billur, who got injured during the incident that the private public bus driver caused in Beşiktaş, has unfortunately lost his life. We wish God’s mercy upon on him and offer our condolences to his family. We are closely following the treatments of the injured. Our only hope is for them to recover soon.”