Court arrests man who attacked metrobus driver in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul court on Sept. 24 ordered the arrest of a man who attacked a metrobus driver with an umbrella, causing an accident which injured eleven.

The passenger, identified as Murat Akbulut, had been referred to court for arrest on charges of malicious wounding and damaging public property.

According to witnesses, Akbulut got into an argument with the driver Recai Türkoğlu over the opening of the doors at the Acıbadem stop, heading in the direction of the Kadıköy district on Sept. 23.

He hit Türkoğlu in the head with an umbrella, causing him to lose control of the wheel and swerve out of the lane.

After careering out of its lane, the metrobus drove over three vehicles on the D-100 motorway and only stopped after crashing into a public bus.

Eleven people, including Türkoğlu, were injured in the accident. 

Meanwhile, Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş pointed to the necessity for a better protection of driver's seat, as he commented on a number of complaints by passengers regarding metrobus travel in the citty.

Topbaş said that there were plans to transfer traffic underground on the same metrobus route.

Unlike buses in a number of countries, only a small number of public buses in Turkey have protective panels to shield drivers from possible attacks.