Suspects in hit-and-run accident in Istanbul arrested in US

ISTANBUL

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Saturday that suspects in a hit-and-run in Istanbul have been arrested in the US.

"As part of our extradition request, the suspect Eylem Tok and her son Timur Cihantimur, who were apprehended and detained in the US, have been arrested by a court in Boston," Tunc wrote on X.

He added that a hearing to review the detentions will be held June 18.

"We will closely follow the extradition trial process that will begin after this hearing and continue our efforts to extradite the suspects from the US to our country," he added.

On March 1, one of the three ATV vehicles traveling in the Eyupsultan district of Istanbul broke down. During repairs, one of the two vehicles traveling in the same direction, crashed into the three ATVs. Oguz Murat Aci, one of five people who was injured in the accident, later lost his life.

Timur Cihantimur, the 17-year-old driver who caused the accident, left the scene with his mother, Eylem Tok, in her vehicle and traveled to Egypt and then to the US.

Temporary arrest request documents for the extradition of the suspects were forwarded to US authorities by the Turkish Ministry of Justice.