Questions over road safety in Turkish Republic of North Cyprus following another horrific high-speed collision
The car’s entire roof was torn off when Çiğdem Altınfincan’s vehicle flew into it
NORTH CYPRUS was in mourning last week following a spate of road traffic accident deaths in just seven hours.
Three university lecturers were killed and five people injured in a horrific accident on Monday 20 January that sent a car airborne, landing on traffic coming in the opposite direction of the main road connecting Nicosia to Güzelyurt.
Three people were killed instantly and a fourth critically injured when the flying car bounced of their own vehicle’s roof. The deceased – driver Ayşe Hadımcı Candemir, 30, and passengers Figen Arkın, 38, and 27-year-old İmge Kozok – were lecturers at Lefke European University.
A fourth passenger, Dilek Yılmaz, was critically injured in the crash. As of this morning, she was still in hospital with severe internal bleeding.
Çiğdem Altınfincan, who was remanded in custody
A police report said the flying car then bounced into a second vehicle, driven by 43-year-old Naci Kanatlı, before coming to a rest at the side of the road. Mr Kanatlı was travelling with wife Süheyla, 40, and eight-year-old daughter Fethiye, and all three were wounded.
The driver of the flying car, Çiğdem Altınfincan, 34, was reported to have lost control of her vehicle shortly after crossing the Türkeli junction. She sustained a broken arm and has since been discharged from hospital.
Ms Altınfincan has been charged with causing the death of three people and injury of five others through dangerous driving. She has been remanded in custody pending trial.
SECOND ACCIDENT
Just seven hours after Türkeli junction crash, news broke of a midnight accident in the town of İskele.
A car driven by the son of Özkan Gezen, an accomplished clarinet player who is well-known in London, was involved in a head-on collision with another car travelling in the opposite direction. 21-year-old Gökhan Gezen died in the crash.
TRAFFIC SAFETY
Campaigners have long drawn attention to the structural problems and low safety standards on North Cyprus’s roads, with President Derviş Eroğlu arguing there was an urgent need to improve conditions to meet modern requirements.
Police sources said 49 people lost their lives on the roads of North Cyprus in 2013.
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crash.jpg The car’s entire roof was torn off when Çiğdem Altınfincan’s vehicle flew into it
cigdemaltinfincan.jpg Çiğdem Altınfincan, who was remanded in custody