Father traces escaped teen's past after son killed in crash
ISTANBUL
In the aftermath of a fatal accident involving a teenager who fled to the United States, the father of the victim is demanding justice, revealing alarming details about the young driver's alleged past infractions.
The incident claimed the life of Oğuz Murat Aci and left four others hospitalized in Istanbul on March 1. It involved a group of five friends traveling on ATV-type vehicles when a luxury jeep driven by 17-year-old Timur Cihantimur collided with them.
"We learned that the child went to school with the same vehicle and that he had been fined five times for speeding in the same area a few months before the incident," said the victim's father, Özer Aci. "This vehicle was allocated to this child."
Following the accident, Cihantimur and his mother, Eylem Tok, a renowned writer, fled the country. Tok and her son reportedly left for Egypt and then the United States. Meanwhile, Bülent Cihantimur, the father of the young driver, has been subjected to a travel ban as part of the ongoing investigation.
Özer Aci, who gathered details after the incident, recounted information from friends connected to the escaped teenager's school.
"Our son will never come back. However, we want 17-year-old Timur Cihantimur, who tore him away from life, from us, his wife and his child, to surrender to justice," he said, seeking accountability in the face of tragedy.
Türkiye has previously initiated the process of requesting the extradition of the son and his mother from the United States. "We have completed the [requested] documents. We hope that the United States will respond positively to our request," Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç stated.
Following the collision, Tok allegedly facilitated her son's escape from the crash site using a vehicle belonging to Ayşe Ceren Sataoğlu, an employee in Bülent Cihantimur's company. Sataoğlu was detained a week after providing a statement at the police station on March 4 and has since been arrested.
Meanwhile, the case has further complexities as Bülent Cihantimur, a doctor by profession, has been identified as a suspect in a separate investigation involving money laundering.
